DOT is in the process of implementing safety enhancements to Brooklyn’s Park Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.  As you can see in the above photo, DOT has painted temporary lane markings that will “rationalize” eastbound traffic from two lanes to one.  These will be painted with permanent lines shortly.  Eastbound traffic volumes are low and the previous configuration encouraged speeding, a leading cause of crashes.

Westbound Park Avenue will retain two lanes because traffic volumes are high enough to warrant that.  However, the merge from Williamsburg Street into westbound Park Avenue will get improved lane markings.  DOT already implemented safety measures under the BQE last month.

These changes are based on recommendation made in the Park Avenue Pedestrian Safety Plan, published by MARP in 2012 after several years of community engagement.

For this semester’s Reclaim Works project,  Pratt students worked with middle school students and the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project to focus on safety throughout a specific stretch of urban space under the BQE where Park and Grand Avenues meet in the Wallabout neighborhood.  Through examinations of place, community, and conversations, they all learned to design for a better quality of life.  The middle school students were the designers and the Pratt students guided them through the design process.

Check out the designs! View the student’s innovative concepts by clicking the pdf above, and vote for the one you think would have the most impact on safety here!

Reclaim Works began as an interdisciplinary course offered through Pratt Institute’s Art & Design Education department. Through a partnership with Citizen Schools and the Urban Assembly Unison School the course ran as a program to support a youth design initiative investigating real neighborhood issues through participatory planning improvement projects.  The goal of the project became two-fold, empowering local youth and giving graduate Pratt Institute students the opportunity to see how their skills in art and design can be used for positive community development.

The New York City Department of Transportation installed 9 new street lights along Park Avenue in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Wallabout, Brooklyn.  This was a direct result of the research and advocacy efforts of our Park Avenue Pedestrian Safety Project.

Four street lights are completely brand new installations:

• North Portland, just south of Park Ave
• Carlton, just south of Park Ave
• Adelphi, just north of Park Ave
• Park Ave, just west of Steuben

Four street light arms were added to existing lamp posts:

• Park Ave at Carlton
• Park Ave at Clinton
• Park Ave at Ryerson (pictured above)
• Park Ave at Grand

The ninth new light, on Washington at Park Ave, was added to an existing traffic light.

Image Credit: Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership

Silent Lights will be unveiled on Wednesday, December 18th at 4:30pm
Park Avenue and Navy Street, Under the BQE
Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Silent Lights is a series of sculptural gates that line a pedestrian pathway under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The gates are embedded with light and sound equipment: 2,400 LEDs and a microphone, controlled by an arduino mega microcontroller. The installation uses these to respond to sounds from the street and transform it into beautiful light patterns. The light enhances this ordinary often overlooked public right-of-way, creating a playful, inviting, memorable space.

The piece took two years to create by a group of designers called Urban Matter Inc. The project was originally slated for a location in Red Hook under the BQE, but due to site construction found a new home in Fort Greene under the BQE at Navy Street and Park Avenue.  The Partnership is working with the artists to connect them with community groups and is helping to promote the installation over the course of its year-long stay.

The project was made possible with support from DOT Urban Arts Program, Artplace America, Black Rock Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council, Awesome Foundation, Designers Lighting Forum of New York, Red Hook Initiative, and contributions from individual donors.

The artists are hosting a post-unveiling party at IMAKE STUDIO Gallery, 163 Plymouth Street in DUMBO, beginning at 5:30pm.

Image Credit: Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership

NYC DOT installed “daylighting” regulations at seven locations along Park Avenue (Brooklyn).  Daylighting removes one parking space at the approach to an intersection and gives drivers/pedestrians a better view of oncoming traffic or crossing pedestrians.

Daylighting was installed at the following locations:

• Westbound Park Avenue at the approach to North Oxford Street.
• Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Waverly Avenue.
• Westbound Park Avenue at the approach to Waverly Avenue.
• Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Ryerson Street (pictured above and below).
• Westbound Park Avenue at the approach to Grand Avenue.
• Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Grand Avenue
• Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Steuben Street.

This change was requested by MARP as a follow-up to the Park Avenue Pedestrian Safety Plan.

Image Credit: Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership

This driver now has a better view of oncoming traffic after stopping at the stop sign

This morning, NYCDOT placed a variable message “skeleton” board on eastbound Park Avenue near Ryerson Street. The electronic sign alternates between two messages: the road’s speed limit and a digital skeleton image next to the words “Slow Down.” The message board will stay on Park Avenue for about one month, before being moved to another location.

According to DOT, a pedestrian struck at 40 mph is 3.5 times more likely to be killed than one struck at 30 mph. Furthermore, speeding was the top contributing factor of traffic fatalities in 2012.

The Park Avenue Safety Plan was published in the summer of 2012, after a multi-year community-led effort. Stay tuned for more information.

If you’ve spent any time underneath the BQE, you know that the pavement conditions are terrible. There are countless potholes from Navy to Steuben, some very large. In some sections, the asphalt near the raised curb is almost entirely gone. This area has been neglected. Upon our request, DOT did send a pothole crew to this area. Some potholes were filled but many more remain. Fixing this issue may require a complete repaving project.

We will keep the pressure on DOT to fix the pavement in this area. You can help, by signing the online petition and/or sharing it with friends. Including hard copy petitions, we now have nearly 900 signatures, close to our goal of 1000! Help us get there.

Stay tuned for more updates and spotlights…

With Superstorm Sandy in the rearview mirror and a nor’easter brewing over the Atlantic, this week we look at rainwater and the BQE. Just a few short years ago New York State DOT completed a major rehabilitation of the elevated portion of the BQE between Navy and Steuben. Lighting was greatly improved (only the area under the BQE at Steuben remains below standard). However, the downspouts that direct BQE runoff to storm drains are already leaking profusely. If you pass under/near the area during a rain storm you will see countless downspouts leaking – some heavily – onto the roadway below. We call on NYS DOT to fix this eyesore.

We also believe that the runoff from the BQE could be used, instead of mixed with sewage and discarded. Innovative planters could be installed at the edge of the parking areas (where these is some sun) and runoff could be directed into them, feeding plants and reducing the frequency/volume of combined sewer overflow events. See the Park Avenue Safety Plan for more details.

As a reminder, Please spread the word about the online petition.

Stay tuned for more updates and spotlights…