As we noted a week ago, the City Department of Transportation has new plans for the reconstruction of the BQE Central, the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that runs below Brooklyn Heights, from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street, and would hold two public forums, one in person on June 20, and one on Zoom on Monday evening, June 24. Mary Frost, of the Brooklyn Eagle, attended the in person Thursday event, and we attended yesterday evening’s Zoom event. These are our take-aways from both events:
1. Nothing is set in stone yet. The latest DOT design (see image, courtesy of the DOT), which would stack the Queens bound and Staten Island bound roadways above and below each other, thereby freeing up more space for Furman Street below, is subject to public review, and may be modified or changed completely.
2. No reconstruction work is likely before 2029. According to DOT’s Julie Bero, an environmental assessment will begin in 2025. A draft may be completed and released for review and comments by the end of that year, and a final Environmental Impact Statement should be complete by 2027. Bidding for construction contracts will begin in 2018, and construction in 2029. Asked how long construction might last, Bero said DOT wouldn’t give an estimate, but her best guess was about ten years.
3. The illustration above is based on a configuration of two lanes of highway in each direction. No decision has been made on whether the rebuilt BQE will have two or three lanes in each direction. That will be determined by the result of traffic studies. Governor Hochul’s decision to suspend congestion pricing may affect the outcome.
4. The DOT proposal, if constructed, would require demolition of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade during construction, and its replacement “in kind” upon completion. Bero said DOT would try to do the demolition and construction along the length of the Promenade in stages, so that some portion of the Promenade would remain open at all times during construction.
5. During the discussion period, several people expressed concerns about environmental issues: air pollution, noise, and vibrations. Michael Stein, of schlaich bergermann partner, Stuttgart, Germany, consultants to the DOT, said it may be possible to install sound absorbing panels inside the structure containing the BQE. The other environmental concerns should be addressed in the draft EIS, which will be open to public comment before the EIS is finalized.
6. One matter that seems, in our view, not well addressed by DOT, is the question of where traffic will go during the likely ten year construction period. There was mention of a parallel bypass highway above Furman Street, but also noted that there are “pinch points” at the north and south ends of the cantilevered BQE’s course that cause problems. This is somehing that will need further consideration.
7. A repeated theme during the discussion was, “Why rebuild a relic of Robert Moses’ 1950s auto and truck centric view of intra-city transportation? Why not look at alternatives such as water transport and shifting loads to smaller vehicles for ‘the last mile?’ Why not improve and expand public transit?”
