Another ignored stop sign, BQE and Atlantic

There is a stop sign at the bottom of the egress from the BQE that leads to Atlantic Ave. (see map). It seems that almost no vehicle will stop where it is supposed to stop here. This spot is a few hundred feet from the notorious accident location that I habitually report on, which also involves an ignored stop sign. But this spot here, right on Atlantic Avenue, obviously also has great potential for accidents. Here are my observations as of yesterday:



Just another example of an ongoing, dangerous situation, apparently completely ignored by the powers that be.

Roy Sloane Proposes Bypass for BQE

Roy Sloane of Cobble Hill, graphic designer and prominent neighborhood leader, has devised a plan for a by-pass of the BQE. His plan is one of three possible solutions that are described in some detail in today's New York Times:

"An Aging B.Q.E. Faces Reconstruction ....." by Joseph Berger

Still another serious accident

Monday, August 2, about 8:30 p.m. Three fire trucks.

Bang, Smash, Off on a Stretcher !

Saturday, June 26, 5:45 p.m. Same place, same story. This time there is another injury. As I have shown on this blog time and time again, these accidents are preventable.

Nothing New on the BQE

Friday, April 9, 2010, about 12:45 p.m.: the BQE ? Just the usual.

State Studying T-Bone Entrance

According to an announcement circulated by Roy Sloane of the Cobble Hill Neighborhood Association, our infamous west-bound T-Bone entrance to the BQE here near Atlantic is BEING STUDIED by the State; it is to be part of the long-term project to rehabilitate the cantilever construction under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Well, that's better than not having it studied, but not as good as planning to actually do something ...


Here is Roy's communication:

Hi all,

To keep you all up to date on the progress on the triple cantilever roadway reconstruction project, I am forwarding to you all the note that I just received from MichaelPorto at Sam Schwartz Engineering outlining the current progress on the development of the Draft Scoping Document (DSD) and the Draft Alternatives Analysis Process Level 1 Screening Criteria (attached). Please review both documents and if you have any additions or comments please forward them before the deadlines indicated below to: Adam Levine , Michael Porto and please cc me as well.

The key points to note are:
1) The project area has now been officially extended South to Hamilton Avenue
2) The Atlantic Avenue exit and entrance located on Columbia Street will now be included in the reconstruction project
3) The primary study area has been extended to the South to include Red Hook and East to Fourth Avenue
4) The secondary study area has been extended East to include all of CB6
5) If there are any other individuals or organizations that you think should should be added to the Stakeholders Advisory Committee, please let Adam, Michael and me know

I will continue to keep you apprised of progress on this project. If you have any specific concerns or4 issues, please feel free to contact me at anytime. If there are any other individuals or organizations that you think should should be added to the distribution list for updates on this project, please let me know. I will be happy to add them.

All the best, Roy


=============================================================================================================

Greetings:

On behalf of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), thank you to all that attended the 4th Stakeholders Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting held on January 27th at St. Francis College (room #3221). The next SAC meeting will be at the same location, at 6:30pm on March 24th, 2010.

As mentioned at the meeting, we will accept any additional comments on the Draft Scoping Document (DSD) until February 10th. The DSD is available on the project website: www.nysdot.gov/bqedowntownbrooklyn.

Subsequent to February 10th, the Scoping Document will be revised and a “draft” Final Scoping Document will be sent out to the SAC membership for comment prior to the March 24th meeting.

We also welcome your comments on the Draft Alternatives Analysis Process Level 1 Screening Criteria (attached), which can be submitted up until February 24th, 2010. We have attached a list of all the comments we have received prior to the January 27th SAC meeting.

As suggested at the January 27th meeting we will provide the presenters names and affiliations on the agenda for future meetings. In addition, we have attached the meeting minutes for the 3rd SAC meeting, held on December 2nd, 2009, and a copy of project-related acronyms and a glossary. Another email will follow that will include the 4th SAC meeting minutes.

Please RSVP to Michael Porto (mporto@samschwartz.com) if you are able to attend the next meeting so that we may add your name to the expected attendees list. Please contact Adam Levine (alevine@dot.state.ny.us) of NYSDOT for general questions regarding this email and/or the project.

We look forward to hearing from you.


Michael Porto
Urban Planner

Sam Schwartz Engineering
611 Broadway I Suite 415 I New York I NY 10012
T: 212.598.9010 x 159
F: 212.598.9148
www.samschwartz.com

"Brilliant in Design, Clear on Message and Visionary in Expression"


P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

Note: Anyone interested in viewing the "attachments" mentioned by Roy may wish to consult the State's website that is devoted to the subject: www.nysdot.gov/bqedowntownbrooklyn

Jan. 26, 2010, 11:30 p.m.

One of the more colorful accidents of recent days.

Accident of 12/2/09, about 12:45 p.m.

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I've gotten tired of photographing every accident I see at this spot. But these accidents continue, one every few days. Here is the one from today.

A Simple Solution ? Letter from a Reader

Dear Mr.Cohn,

I am an employee of lich and I use the BQE almost daily. The problem with the BQE T-bone is that drivers that are exiting cannot see if the lane is clear of traffic. The solution to this is simply placing permanent highway cones on the lane divider. This will Cleary show if the exit lane is clear or not. The cost of a highway cone is about $16, per cone. I am attaching a pic and diagram of my suggestion.

Thank you for keeping an eye on lich !!!
Good Job !!!!!

Anand

The Placebo Option

A police patrol car is now on apparently permanent duty in the vicinity of our accident-prone T-bone entrance to the BQE (top picture). What can this accomplish ? I have not noticed any lessening of accidents at this spot. Moreover, the flagrant violation of the stop sign, to which I have called attention before, is unabated. The picture below, showing a vehicle ignoring the sign, is shown in the picture below. This particular vehicle behaves like essentially all the others. IMHO, the patrol car duty accomplishes less than the proverbial aspirin for serious disease -- it is no more than a placebo.

The Preposterous Pace of BQE Reconstruction

Here is what is happening to BQE reconstruction (quoting the Cobble Hill Association):

BQE Rehabilitation website

Here is the link to the DOT's BQE Rehabilitation website:
https://www.nysdot.gov/bqedowntownbrooklyn

Accoording to their preposterous timetable:

'The current status of the project is In Development.
Project Development began in Fall 1997.
The Bid Opening is expected to be in Summer 2017.
Construction is expected to begin in Summer 2017.
Construction is expected to be completed in Summer 2020.'

Let's hope we're all alive in 2020 when they finish construction.

Well, pace the Cobble Hill Association, the one thing that is certain about the human life span is that we will not ALL be alive in 2020. And for those of us now over 80, the chance is substantially less than even.

Hitler's Birthday on the BQE

Accident of April 20, 2009, about 10:45 a.m.

I have not documented accidents I have witnessed lately -- there are so many, the routine is so tedious, the politicians don't seem to care.

I happened to see one last night, but I let it go. But then another one this morning, on Columbine Day, Hitler's Birthday. Well, I was provoked into documenting this one.

IN BALANCE .....

This blog has reported seventy-three accidents since August 20, 2007, all at the same location. (Obviously, since I cannot watch the spot 24/7, the number of actual accidents since then is higher than that.) I have also made a number of suggestions to alleviate the situation. Most radically, if money cannot be found to rebuild this dangerous access point to the BQE, I have suggested, and now suggest again, that the entrance here should be closed.

My FOIL request to the Police Department, seeking specific comparative information about the number of accidents here and the number of possible fatalities, has been ignored. It does not appear that I will be able to obtain such information without litigation. (My FOIL request can be accessed through the link given on this blog.)

But I have been encouraged in this work by a number of people -- in the media, in public office, and in the neighborhood. I would like to single out for particular appreciation The Brooklyn Paper and its editor Gersh Kuntzman, and Community Board 6 (Brooklyn) and its District Manager Craig Hammerman. I hope that the media will maintain a watchful eye, and that public officials on all levels will maintain their interest.

I will no longer try to report on each and every accident I see. Instead, I will do what I can from time to time, hoping that others will pick up the slack.

Accident # 73; Second of Day

Second accident of day. Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008, 9:45 p.m.

Accident # 72

The last day of November. Sunday, November 30, about 11:30 a.m.

Accident #71

Wednesday, November 26, 2008, approx. 1:45 p.m. This was a three-car imbroglio.

Accident # 70

Sunday afternoon, November 23, 2008, about 2 p.m.

Accident #69

Monday morning, November 3, 2008, about 10 a.m.

All Saints' Day Massacre

also known as Accident #68. Saturday evening, November 1, 2008, about 9 p.m.

Could have been prevented: Accident #67

Friday, October 24, about 11 a.m. Accident #66, like all the rest, could have been prevented with a bit of caring by our dear pols.

Accident #66

Early Monday morning -- October 20, 2008, about 8 a.m. Another accident that should have been prevented.

Accident #65: Once again, preventable but not prevented

Saturday Night Live: Sat., Oct. 18, 11:30 p.m. Once again, preventable but not prevented.

Accident 64: ambulances, patrol car, damages

Monday, Oct. 13, 3:20 p.m. Yet another accident. Preventable but not prevented. When will they attend to this crash-point access ramp ?

Accident #63

Sunday, October 12, 2008, 2:40 p.m. A beautiful fall day, but here is one more accident. Is anyone watching ? Is anyone listening ?

Accident #62

Saturday, October 4, 4 p.m. This is the 61st time that I have observed this kind of accident since last fall. Does anyone care ?

Accident #61

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, 11:45 p.m.

Accident #60

Here is the 60th accident. Tuesday, Sept. 23, about 6:45 p.m. It's really tedious trying to comment. Basically, it's a matter of negligence and neglect by governments on all levels.

Accident #59

As witnessed by Rita Cohn:

Accident at same spot, today, Monday Sept. 15, 2008, 8:40 a.m. Tow truck pulls in to red sedan and grey sedan behind it.

Accident #58

Here we are, Sunday, September 7, 2008. High noon. Guess what, another accident at the same familiar place.

What are the authorities doing about this relentless series of accidents ? Well, I am too polite to say this in English, but the Spanish term is nada.

It is now more than a year ago since I filed a Freedom of Information Law request to the NYC Police Department for accident figures at this spot. So far I've heard nada. I phone them every so often, and, in effect, I always get this answer: Do you think you're the only one who wants attention from us ?

Accident #57, Thurs.,Aug.28, 2:30 p.m.

Baby Caught in Accident # 56

A babe in arms is caught in this accident shortly after midnight, Sunday, Aug. 3, ab. 12:30 a.m. The politicians don't seem to care. The BQE is a state function. But this probably wasn't the baby of any of the Albany politicians, so why should they care.

Accident #55

Tues., July 22, 2008, about 11:40 p.m

Accident #54, Thursday,July 17, 2008, about 10:30 a.m.

Accident # 53

Thursday, July 10, 2008. About 10 p.m.

Accident # 52, Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 7:45 p.m.

This time it's a tractor-trailer collision. Obviously, as in all accidents, there is cost to the vehicle owners and their insurance companies. But there is also a huge cost to the public: insurance rates, police time, hospitalizations ... Do our legislators care ? Does the governor ?