Our friends at the Brooklyn Heights Association, along with other interested community groups, met with the expert panel appointed by Mayor de Blasio today, and received the panel’s recommendations concerning rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The BHA quoted the conclusions to the Panel’s report as follows:
An immediate fix for the roadway, prioritizing the safety of the public, should begin now. This is based on the Panel’s new, more precise data that suggests sections of the road may become unsafe and incapable of carrying current traffic within five years.
Actions to reduce traffic volumes and improve reliability – to extend the highway’s life, reduce crashes and begin transitioning users to other routes or modes of transportation – must be undertaken right away.
Planning for a corridor-wide vision must begin now, incorporating modern transportation and sustainability ideals while balancing the physical needs of a deteriorating roadway, with the goal of a new, comprehensive road connecting Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens.
This is pretty much what was earlier reported to be the panel’s anticipated recommendations. There’s a link to the full report here. Kudos to the BHA, A Better Way NYC, the Cobble Hill Association, local elected officials, and others for their effective advocacy.
