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June 15, 2011
More Traffic Woes for Third Avenue, Courtesy Atlantic Yards
Park Slope Patch
by Kristen V. Brown
Get ready for gridlock.
Construction on a series of major traffic changes in anticipation of the 2012 opening of the Barclays Center arena will get underway as early as today, but residents in the arena’s footprint charge that plans to mitigate the thousands of new vehicles that will crowd the neighborhood on game days just doesn’t cut it.
In expectation of the car crowds the new arena will net on event days, developer Forest City Ratner has proposed a series of changes to traffic patterns – some slated to take effect beginning July 31.
...At a hearing for the plan at Borough Hall on Tuesday night, residents were dumbfounded by the lack of plans for blocks such as State Street and Third Avenue – blocks likely to be affected by massive amounts of traffic spillover, but apparently not close enough to the arena site to be considered in the plan.
“This is a gaping hole in the plan,” said Jonathan Glazer, 51, a resident of State Street near Third Avenue.
..."I'm screwed," said Daughtry Carstarphen, another State Street resident. "Traffic is going to be at a standstill. They're making all these changes on behalf of the people coming to events, they don't give a flying patookie about those of us that live there."
Related coverage...
NY1, Traffic Engineer Tries To Address Potential Atlantic Yards Bottleneck
Schwartz said the real key will be convincing those who come to the arena to take mass transit. So the plan calls for only one new parking lot with 1,100 spaces.
However, those plans were not enough for some who live nearby.
One question that was answered dealt with residential parking, and concerns that arena-goers will take up many of the precious free parking spots on the street.
Posted by eric at June 15, 2011 10:40 AM