Dear BHA Community:

Earlier this week, the BQET sent a letter to NYC DOT with our coalition’s feedback on the preliminary design concepts for the BQE Central (the BQE from Atlantic Ave to Sands Street) unveiled by the city in December 2022. You can view the deck here.
 
While we acknowledge the progress the city has made so far on a very complex project, we believe that the current designs are, as we stated in our letter, “…Built on the flawed premise of rebuilding a roadway that represents the transportation planning of the past. DOT’s designs for a rebuilt six-lane highway, albeit with a few (potentially) capped areas and some added greenery, do not sufficiently address concerns about public health and the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the six-lane designs contradict decades of evidence about induced demand.”
 
What is “induced demand?” Induced demand is an economic and planning term for what happens when increasing the supply of something (like roads) makes people want that thing even more. It is why adding lanes and expanding highways fails to fix congestion – a phenomena the NY Times wrote about recently. Although this idea has been around for decades, we now have enough data to prove without doubt that this happens “pretty much every time we build new roads.”
 
New York City and State must seriously invest in transit and alternatives to single occupancy vehicles, improved and more sustainable freight transportation, appropriate tolling of roads and bridges, and use every means possible to incentivize people to get out of their cars.
 
The next public workshops on the BQE Central are Feb 28 & Mar 2, details to come. We have asked DOT to develop a new set of concepts that would show the design possibilities for a smaller, four lane roadway (ultimately for the entire BQE corridor) that are much more responsive to climate and public health imperatives.
 
We are very grateful and encouraged that our local elected officials, U.S. Rep Dan Goldman, State Senator Gounardes, Assembly Member Simon, BP Reynoso, and CM Restler (along with many other officials in the North and South sections) have been beating the drum on the future of the BQE corridor and in solidarity with BQE-adjacent communities. It is imperative that NY State finally come to the table to plan the future of the BQE.
 
Please mark your calendars for the Feb 28 & Mar 2 public workshops! You can review the materials and design concepts presented in December here.

Do you have thoughts, questions, comments about the BQE in Brooklyn Heights or beyond? Please write to us at info@thebha.org.