Lights Stink,

I can appreciate this point, and Calming traffic sounds like a fantastic idea, however, there are many factors to consider in that area.

It seems that a big concern was that the proposed green streets would considerably narrow the already narrow main thoroughfare and according to teh site maintained by Mr. Cavanaugh, many people there feel that it would cause concern for other things such as passing of emergency vehicles and so on and so forth (see website for more info if interested).

I’m sure these folks had more reasons than one for vetoing (sp?) such plans. And I’m afraid to say that the GB lifer person is right – you should not cast stones if you don’t live there to know all, or at least some of the facts.

Look, I’m not trying to be nit-picky here, really, I’m not – but that picture was outbound – from Knapp Street onto Gerritsen towards Avenue U (see Key Food on the right) because of the snow (apparently I think the Belt was backed up). I’m just saying it could have been anyone – to say it was someone from that area wouldn’t necessarily be true.

I think everyone can agree that there are horrific drivers everywhere, doesn’t matter where you live, unforunately. If that neighborhood is happy with the outcome, then so be it. That’s all I’m saying.

I apologize that my comment posted a few times didn’t mean for that to happen after I edited my comment.

Do we really think this was a Florida resident escaping the lousy 80-degrees-and-sunny weather in Miami for Gerritsen Beach? And do we really think someone from Florida is more likely than a local resident to drive on the sidewalk? Maybe he or she was in a hurry to get back to Florida.

From what I understand in viewing the clips, it was a fight for a light, not green streets after a pedestrian was killed.

Points well received gentlemen.

Points well received gentlemen. No harm, no foul.

Pedestrians fleeing a hurricane, however, might not fare so well.

More greenspace and fewer car trips would also do wonders for reducing storm surge and the likelihood of a catastrophic hurricane, respectively.

In the event of a hurricane evacuation both sides of the avenue will be used for moving vehicle out of Gerritsen Beach. This small strip of green median is not going to be the significant bottleneck facing South Brooklyn hurricane evacuees in the case of an emergency.

Were I running for Mayor, I would allow different community boards to vote for one of two packages of street-use rules, “auto-oriented” or “people-oriented.”

I don’t think it’s anywhere near that simple, Larry. The Greenstreets plan might have had a chance of working, but for whatever reason it got the community up in arms against it.

If you look at this photo, you’ll see a major part of their concern: at that point the four-lane avenue in question is the only land connection (besides a narrow footpath) to the outside world for hundreds of people living in an area vulnerable to hurricanes.

In addition to the blog post and the photo gallery, Mr. Cavanaugh has put video of most of the meeting on YouTube:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

He’s promised an edited version, but I think that all liveable streets advocates should sit through the full 30 minutes to see what happens when you fail to convince a community of the value of a proposed improvement. Sadly, we only get to see a few seconds of Lew Fidler, but I’m glad he understands the importance of deep breathing.

Let them do as they please — nobody goes there who doesn’t live there anyway.

DOT didn’t just randomly pick Gerritsen Ave. for a redesign. This whole thing was initiated after a pedestrian was killed here. There are serious implications to poorly designed, auto-oriented streets.

I agree. Were I running for Mayor, I would allow different community boards to vote for one of two packages of street-use rules, “auto-oriented” or “people-oriented.”

The former would include free parking, signal timing at the state speed limit, limited pedestrian crossing times, liberal curb cut regulations, stronger enforcement of minimum parking requirements, no attempt to limit motor vehicle through traffic, liberal rules for trucks, no bike lanes except for through routes, and no block parties.

The later would include:

Resident parking permits for a fee with funds dedicated to local improvments, including public funding of sidewalk repair,

Lights timed at bicycle speed (say 18 mph) with signs that indicate this is the case),

More bike lanes, traffic calming to discourage through traffic except on major arterials,

No parking requirement,

Curb cut and parking restrictions,

Alternate side reorganized so both sides of the street are done on the same day, with the no-parking hours extended for the streets to be used as play streets,

Traffic free weekends on commercial streets.

Etc.

The outcome is hardly surprising. Gerritsen Beach is at the very heart of car-centric Brooklyn. There isn’t a subway for miles, and your only non-car commute is a nausea-inducing express bus that wends its way through East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas and Kensington.

Let them do as they please — nobody goes there who doesn’t live there anyway.