Traffic safety advocates celebrate DOT's plans to improve Atlantic Avenue

NEW YORK -- On the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Clinton Street in Brooklyn, trucks barrel down the roadway as cyclists weave between them. Pedestrians wait for their turn to cross the busy intersection.

Atlantic Avenue has long been considered a dangerous corridor.

"We're one of the slowest moving countries and definitely cities when it comes to good transportation policy, but I really feel like the time is now. We have to take advantage of this. DOT, the Brooklyn DOT specifically, really wants to do a lot of this work. As long as people don't get in their way, we're going to see a lot more of these projects happening in our borough," Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said.

The NYC Department of Transportation unveiled a plan this week to enhance pedestrian safety along part of the long artery that cuts through the midsection of the borough.

"Over the last five years, we've had 500 crashes just on this stretch of Atlantic Avenue between Fourth Avenue and the East River," Brooklyn City Councilmember Lincoln Restler said.

Here's what the plan entails

The plan includes signal changes, pedestrian islands, mid-block crossings, and an effort to reduce double parking. Thursday, politicians and activists gathered to celebrate the news, saying it's long overdue.

"It's taken a long time to get the kind of responsiveness that we need to make some of these changes," Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon said.

Local leaders like Amanda Nichols, president of the Cobble Hill Association, say people are often too afraid to cross the street.

"A year from now, I'm hoping to see is that our list of pedestrians that has been killed on Atlantic Avenue has not gotten even a person longer," Nichols said.

Activists really began doubling down on demanding changes after another tragedy happened on the roadway. Police say 31-year-old Katie Harris was hit and killed by a dangerous driver on Clinton Street and Atlantic Avenue in April 2023.

"A thousand people signing a petition to really demand that DOT put in place smart street safety measures by Atlantic Avenue from the waterfront up to Fourth Avenue to keep this Avenue safe," recalled state Sen. Andrew Gounardes.

DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez released the following statement this week: "Atlantic Avenue is a vital transportation artery for Brooklyn, and these critical upgrades will make it significantly easier to walk the avenue, support economic development, and enhance safety by better managing traffic through the corridor."

The agency said it's part of a larger effort to prioritize the corridor under the Vision Zero plan.

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