Tag: transportation

“We Have Not Figured Out Exactly How to Handle That”

02/15/2019 | Comment

“We have not figured out exactly how to handle that” is a quote from MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim about overcrowding on the First Avenue and Third Avenue platforms specifically, but it might as well be the mantra of MTA and City DOT when it comes to the new plan to fix the L train tunnel. Most of the surface transit mitigation that was in place for the L train shutdown is off the table (read: the City isn’t doing anything) and the MTA doesn’t really know what additional service it will run for the down times. Service will start to get reduced around 8 p.m. on weeknights, and trains will run with (minimum) 20-minute weekends.

Luckily, very few people go to north Brooklyn on nights and weekends, so it should all work out just fine.

LongPoint Bridge Connecting Greenpoint to Long Island City Gains Momentum

I’ve always wanted to see this connection between Greenpoint and Hunter’s Point reestablished. The article mentions the Vernon Avenue Bridge (see below), which was constructed in 1905. But a bridge connecting Manhattan Avenue to Vernon Avenue was in place at least as far back as the mid-1850s, when Greenpoint and Hunter’s Point were being developed. Eliphalet Nott was involved in the development of both neighborhoods, which is apparent looking at the very similar building stock in both areas.

Newtown Creek GMDC

Vernon Avenue Bridge, 1905
Credit: Novelty Theater


Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Plan Picks Up Speed

City readying release of RFP for environmental impact studies, the preliminary steps towards an actual ULURP action. Meanwhile, the scope of the project continues to shift away from the waterfront connector it started as.

City Unveils Possible Routes for Streetcar in Brooklyn and Queens

In more alternative transportation news (also sure to give car owners agita), the city is out with a study on potential routes for the BQX streetcar. One of the more interesting things here is how the trollies will get across Newtown Creek. One option is a new bridge from Manhattan Avenue to Vernon Boulevard, recreating the bridge that existed there for decades. Streetcar or no, this is a good idea. Not sure I get the north/south passage through Williamsburg, though – if the goal is to serve “transit deserts” and make connections to ferries and the waterfront, why are we looking at Berry? And Wythe Avenue is only “medium traffic volume”? Place is a parking lot from afternoons well into the night, and most weekends.

But the biggest thing I’m not seeing here is a comprehensive transportation plan. So far, they are looking at how to fit the BQX in, but how does it all go together?

L Train Shutdown Could Turn Grand Street into a Car-Free Zone

As part of the plan to remediate the shutdown of the L train, Transportation Alternatives floats a plan to make Grand Street car free from the Williamsburg Bridge east to the intersection of Grand and Metropolitan (pretty much the Kings/Queens line). This would allow buses and cyclists freer travel along Grand, but surely would be greeted with howls from all of the merchants along Grand between Rodney Street and Bushwick Avenue. Still – “complete street redesign” would be a welcome thing in many places.

In Williamsburg, Pondering Life Without the L Train

her most immediate concern was how the woman who cleans their home would get there. On Monday, she and her husband also discussed how he might be able

vs.

If the commute is three times longer, is it worth it?

Perspective, people.