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May 24, 2012
Barclays Will Have Little Parking For Cars, Lots For Bikes
Gothamist
by Garth Johnston
We already knew that the Barclays Center over at the Atlantic Yards was going to have half the parking it originally promised, but yesterday officials came together to try and explain why that is actually a good thing. And also to talk bike parking, animal marches and the not-surprising death of the dream of "Netrocards."
As you might remember, when the 19,000-seat arena was first proposed, officials were mulling the idea of giving free Metrocards to attendees as a way to ease traffic. Yesterday former Koch traffic commissioner Sam "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz, who is working on the arena's traffic plan, explained that, "We find that the people who were driving to the arena, what they were facing was a $30 charge for parking versus a $2.50 MetroCard. Giving them the free MetroCard was not the incentive." Schwartz went on to say that the arena's plan was to "scare drivers away from the arena. I will be advising people on opening day, don’t even think about driving to the Jay-Z concert."
Related coverage...
NYMag.com Daily Intel, Please, Please Do Not Drive Your Car to Barclays Center
500-some-odd spots near the arena seems destined to have a bunch of dopes driving around Park Slope looking for spots. Even here, to quote Singles, people love their cars.
Ditmas Park Corner, What Do You Think About All the Barclays Hubbub?
From Jay-Z to Babs to the Biebs, from basketball to hockey to horses, and possibly now from traffic to traffic changes to even more traffic, the saga of the Barclays Center has been exhausting from the word go. And even though we’re a good 15 minutes from the future arena, there’s no denying that it will impact us in some way.
...So as someone who doesn’t live there but who does pass through regularly, how do you think transportation around the Barclays Center is going to be? Do you anticipate packed subways cars, backed up traffic on Flatbush Avenue, and a pedestrian mash on your evening commute? Or do you think there won’t be a noticeable difference?
Take the poll — so far, disaster is outdistancing confidence in Forest City's TDM plan by a 12-to-1 margin.
Posted by eric at May 24, 2012 11:12 AM