Recommendations, Questions, Concerns & Issues:

​

#1. BUS TURN ON 36th STREET
Unless we are misinterpreting the plans, it seems that there is no turning lane for making westerly turns onto 36th Street.  This is a key turn for buses.  Without a turning lane, only one lane of traffic will remain on 4th northbound. Double parking is common in the area of 36th Street  (to the north for the 36th Street subway station, on the south both for cars and truck deliveries).   A double parked vehicle will reduce 4th Ave to zero lanes of traffic.  A turning lane, even if restricted to just buses, would keep traffic flowing and avoid this problem.

 

#2. DOES THE PROTECTED BIKE LANE SUDDENLY STOP AT 18TH & AGAIN AT 59TH ST?
The protected bike lane seems to not be protected from 59th to 60th to allow for a turning lane and two traffic lanes. North bound there seem to be changes due to neck down corners (protrusions). Also, in the area of 18th to 17th Street north bound there is NO bike lane at all with the 11' next to the curb being a vehicle turning lane. Additionally, from 17th to Prospect Avenue there is NO bike lane at all. On the southbound side, the bike lane seems to not be a protected lane from 20th to 19th to 18th to 17th St. From Prospect Avenue to 17th Street, there is no bike lane at all in order to maintain 2 lanes of through traffic and a vehicle turning lane. It also seems that from 16th to Prospect there is no bike lane at all. We request a clarification of this.

 

#3. SIGNAGE
All signage to inform pedestrians of the change in bus routes and closed sidewalks during construction seem to be called for in English only. We need English, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic.

 

#4. COMMUNITY CONTACT WITH DOT DURING CONSTRUCTION
Immediately, beginning now, we need a phone number & e-mail of a DOT representative to answer questions from the public. This service must be provided in multiple languages.

 

#5. SAFETY BOLLARDS IN PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALKS
While we are pleased that the plans do not seem to call for sitting areas or benches on the dangerous median, it seems to lack safety bollards. We believe that these bollards are essential for the safety of pedestrians "stuck" on the median during a change of lights.

 

#6. MAINTENANCE: RAT INFESTATION, LITTER, VANDALISM & SNOW/ICE REMOVAL
We see plantings in the plans - less extensive than the original plans - but we have two issues. The first is the need for anti-rat metal netting to prevent the rats from the subway creating nests in the planters. And secondly, we know this is not part of this engineering stage, but the community needs to know clearly - who will be responsible for maintaining the planted areas in terms of litter, vandalism & graffiti. Also, we need to know who will be responsible for following City law in removing snow and ice from the median crossing portion - this is an incredibly important safety issue.

 

#7. BASELINE TRAFFIC COUNTS
We ask that a baseline traffic count, with distinction of trucks from personal vehicles and the distinction of local traffic from commuter traffic, be created - from readings on 5 separate days. And that every month, during the project, additional data be collected for comparison and that this data be shared in a timely fashion with the local Community Boards, elected officials and general community. We ask that this data be "real" and not from an algorithm.  Data should reflect which streets off of 4th trucks take.

 

#8. BASELINE AIR POLLUTION MEASUREMENT
We ask that air quality measures in all six categories where Federal guidelines exist be taken to create baseline data for at least 5 points in Sunset Park and that each month additional data be collected and compared and shared, as with the traffic count data.

 

#9. SAFE SIDEWALKS FOR CHILDREN AT CAR WASHES & GARAGES
Along 4th Avenue, in Sunset Park, there are several tire repair shops, at least two car washes and numerous gas stations and auto repair shops. We ask for DOT to initiate an inter-agency task force to inform these "use sites" of the coming changes and then vigilantly address activities from these businesses that endanger cyclists. For example, tire shops (not zoned for the area) commonly use the sidewalk and the parking lane to conduct their business. Car washes block the pedestrian sidewalks as they dry cars or stage them for entry into their business. A plan for "safe" sidewalks at each conforming use site must be established and acted upon.  Special attention is needed in front of the 72nd Precinct where angle parking is the rule.

 

#10. SEWER CHANGES - RAINFALL DIVERSION FROM HOUSEHOLD SEWAGE
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity exists with this project to take serious steps to separate rain water from raw sewage. 4th Avenue is a natural "collection" point for rain water from as far away as 6th Avenue. During heavy rains, 4th Avenue more resembles a river than a roadway. We ask that during the sewer pipe phase of this project, plans are created and executed to divert rainwater from 4th Avenue directly into the nearby Bay.

 

#11. TURNING LANES ACROSS TRAFFIC TO SIDE STREETS
The plan seems to not include turning lanes for approximately 22 streets.  While we are open to DOT & NYPD using "no left turn" restrictions at various times to achieve specific safety purposes, we insist that turn lanes be included in the designs.  To leave them out seems to make no turns a permanent decision for at least the next forty years (until the next major reconstruction). Including a traffic turn lane would merely involve a decrease in the width of the median in most locations. 

​

To disrupt traffic patterns of local residents in order to assure a smoother flow of commuter traffic is a crime against the local host community. Instead of punishing the local residents and forcing them to go several blocks out of their way because of the lack of a turning lane (and we assume signage prohibiting turns), the City should be giving the local community some "gift" or benefit to make up for the community dealing with commuter & truck traffic congestion, poorer air quality, danger to pedestrians and increased noise pollution. 

​

Directing local traffic to circuitous routes moves the congestion from 4th Avenue to residential side streets and the adjacent 3rd and 5th Avenues. 

​

The restriction of a left turn to the west can at minimum force a local driver to pass through 7 additional traffic signals. Key locations are: 63rd, 59th, 54th, 39th, 38th, 36th, 35th, 33rd, 32nd, 31st, 30th, 29th, 28th, 27th, 26th, 25th, 24th, 21st, 20th, 14th, 13th and 8th.