Some Park Slope residents have decided that they would like to keep sprawling 4th Avenue just as sprawling as it is, thank you very much. The notoriously dicey road has already received upgrades in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge as part of a massive initiative by DOT. But Community Board 6 is hoping to put the brakes on a plan to cut traffic from three lanes to two, and eliminate some left turning between 15th Street and Atlantic Avenue.
"No one disputes that there are serious traffic and pedestrian safety concerns regarding the 4th Avenue corridor that must be remedied," reads the resolution drafted by CB 6 chairman Daniel Kummer. "The question is how best to address those concerns and to balance the numerous factors and interests involved."
The board, which voted down the plan 18 to 9, urges the DOT to draft a more modest proposal, one that would maintain three lanes in each direction and wouldn't eliminate so many left turn bays (the current plan cuts eight from pedestrian-heavy locations near subways and schools).
"A number of our members were strongly concerned that such a radical change of traffic patterns would detrimentally affect mobility and local access on a neighborhood-wide scale, impacting not only residents and visitors to the neighborhood, but also local businesses and their suppliers," the resolution reads.
Park Slope is the only neighborhood along 4th Avenue to protest the changes. But since the community board's role is strictly advisory, there remains a chance that the plan will pass anyway, as politicians like Councilman Brad Lander are adamant about following through with its improvements.
“Department of Transportation’s proposed improvements for 4th Avenue will make a big difference for safety on a street that is dangerous for drivers and pedestrians," Lander said in a statement. "I am currently evaluating what is the best path forward to achieve these goals.”
