Dumbo NYC

Notes from the DUMBO, Brooklyn NY neighborhood


One Way Jay Street Proposal For Two Way

February 3rd, 2009

Jay Street between Front and Prospect

The Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association and the Watchtower Society requested that Jay Street, between York and Prospect Street in Dumbo (shown above) be made into two way traffic, according to Community Board 2 District Manager Robert Perris. Currently, for Dumbo residents, Washington and Pearl Streets are the major streets out of Dumbo towards downtown Brooklyn and Gold Street for Vinegar Hill drivers. Changing the one block stretch on Jay Street to two way will allow another point of entry and exit for traffic for more direct access towards Tillary Street and downtown Brooklyn. This also potentially reduces traffic on the Belgian Blocked Pearl Street going towards the Brooklyn Bridge entrance (shown below).

According to an article in the print edition of the Brooklyn Heights Courier by Stephen Witt, “Once a community board makes a street change request, the DOT takes a look at it including how the street circulates in the area and the cost and logistics of making the change.” There is no specific timeline on this. One drawback may be that the bicycle lane will be squeezed if Jay were to become two way. However, starting on York Street, Jay Street is already two way traffic. Are there any reasons not to make this a two way street? Comments?

Pearl Street between Front and York

Filed in Jay Street at 9:39 am
Comments
  • thinksmart
    Increase car traffic on pedestrian-heavy Jay street? Great idea. What's more needed is a physically separated bike lane for the many people who ride in and out of Dumbo on bikes.
  • Two way streets have been demonstrated to be slower at streetsblog.org.

    Eliminate the parking on that block and you could keep the bike lane.

    One concern I'd have is visibility from the left-turning traffic from Prospect onto Jay. A lot of cars just sort of glide through that intersection ignoring the light and turn left or right (to go to the BQE)
  • c
    they might as well put in a traffic light at the intersection of jay & york, you can get stuck for over 5 minutes waiting for a whole train load of people to cross the street if you get to the intersection just after an F train has come into the York st stop...
  • loose stool
    "the many people who ride in and out of Dumbo on bikes.", Hardly. Get rid of the bike lanes all together. Riding bikes to work is the musings of this antique mayor who has lost all his testosterone. It is the most unreliable form of transportation there is. As soon as it rains these clowns are pushing their fixed geared bikes on the train with their "share the road" stickers staring me in the face. There are some days I could count the number of bikes passing in an hour on my pecker!
  • M
    They should consider putting a stop sign on Front St. at the intersection with Pearl St. Currently, only the traffic on Pearl crossing Front has a stop sign. Due to the cars parked on Front it is difficult for cars on Pearl to see if traffic is coming on Front before crossing the intersection, and therefore the cars are forced to inch out into the intersection. It seems like I see at least one near miss on a wreck at this intersection every day.
  • david is very short thats why
    Here's what we need: speed bumps the entire length of Front, eliminate the city bus making 60 mile an hour sidewalk sweeping turns from Front onto Main, and establish a traffic light at Washington and Front.
  • Dreidel Hustler
    Has traffic become so bad in this neighborhood that we need to create two-way streets? People, this place is a ghost town compared to other areas. This isn't Bedford Ave or Smith St.

    Leave well enough alone.
  • loose stool
    "Has traffic become so bad in this neighborhood that we need to create two-way streets?"
    Ah, it's the other way around. When traffic gets bad they make 2 way streets one way.
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