Four traffic lanes remain, bye-bye parking lane!
The online version of the article includes content about the August 27 Make McGuinness Safe bike rally and the Keep McGuinness Moving statement on the most recent plan. The printed paper went to press before these events occurred.
One could safely say most consider McGuinness Boulevard to be a dangerous road. It’s reported that an accident where someone is injured happens at least once a month there — Transportation Alternatives’ data shows 150 people have been injured since 2019. Pedestrians and cyclists have been killed on this road. If you have to cross this four-lane road you have less than 30 seconds before the light changes, and you need to be wary of cars making turns in the crosswalk as often they don’t yield.
On August 20, 2024 the NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) released the most current plan for the southern part of McGuinness, which made the NYC DOT’s original promise of making McGuinness Boulevard safe seem like a fairy tale to those who wanted a safer McGuinness Boulevard. The once safety-forward plan in its latest form sacrifices some of its safeguards for speed. What would have become two lanes of two-way traffic and a parking-protected bike lane will now remain four lanes of two-way traffic from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., a lesser protected bike lane (protected by flexible bollards and by jersey barriers at intersections instead of a lane of parked cars), and parking on the right traffic lane on each side only during off-hours.
“This was about slowing traffic. This does nothing to reduce traffic. It’s basically not accomplishing any of the goals. It’s just giving us a poorly planned bike lane, which is not what anybody was asking for,” said NYS State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher in an August 20 interview with The City.
Once upon a time a safety plan began in the summer of 2021 with community workshops and online portals providing feedback from locals that culminated in a plan presented by NYC DOT on May 4, 2023. After 23 months of studies and community feedback the NYC DOT had decided to remove one lane of traffic from each direction and configure the removed lanes into parking protected bike lanes.
Curious and curiouser that only two months later, on July 3, 2023 Mayor Eric Adams requested the NYC DOT adjust the plan to be a more agreeable compromise to local businesses and residents who didn’t like the safety plan for McGuinness.
Hundreds who were against the NYC DOT’s original plan held a rally on June 15, 2023 to communicate their issues with it. Many felt that traffic would detour onto quiet side streets, which would increase pollution and danger there. Businesses claimed their deliveries would be delayed or vendors would refuse to deliver due to the added travel hassle. A majority conveyed the general sense that a person is responsible for their own safety, and if they follow the traffic signals all will be well. Keep McGuinness Moving (KMM) was formed from this group.
“400 people had a meeting and they raised their concerns. And I listen to New Yorkers. I’m a biker, everyone knows that. I know the area; it’s in the nine-four precinct … I know it very well. I have been an advocate for safe streets,” answered Adams in a July 10 press conference when asked why he asked for the McGuinness plan to be redone.
On the other hand at the time of this June 15 rally, over 4,000 had signed the Transportation Alternative petition that supported the NYC DOT’s original plan that included: “wider sidewalks to help pedestrians as they cross the street, a protected bike lane to protect cyclists, and eliminating one lane of traffic in each direction so traffic is slowed and these safety improvements can be installed”. The number of signatures increased to 7,000 at the time of Adams’s July 10 press conference.
Adams had questioned what percentage of the signers were residents of the area.
NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler reported, “30% live within 1200 feet of McGuinness Boulevard. 2/3rds live in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, 96% of them are the residents of New York City.”
At present, this petition met its goal of 10,000 signatures. Elected officials representing the area: U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez, NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, NYS Senators Julia Salazar and Kristen Gonzalez, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and NYC Council Members Jennifer Gutiérrez and Lincoln Restler all supported the NYC DOT’s original plan.
The first compromise of sorts was reached August 16, 2023. The proposal was one lane of traffic each way from Meeker to Calyer, and two lanes of traffic in each direction from Calyer to the Pulaski Bridge from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and outside of this time range one lane on each side would become parking. There would also be a bike lane on each side of the road.
At the time of this compromise Juda S. Engelmayer, creator of the KMM Instagram, stated, “It is our understanding that the recent redesign concept pitched by NYC DOT has not been formally approved. There is a lot of work to be done to come to a compromise that works for everyone in Greenpoint and the adjoining neighborhoods.”
Now the August 16, 2023 compromise has been compromised.
Curious and curiouser that 400 voices had more sway with Adams than the 4,000 that grew to 7,000 that grew to 10,000. Curious and curiouser that arguments that are thoughtful and potentially valid ideas but not yet based in proof can upend a data-based plan that took nearly two years to draft. How much traffic would migrate to side streets on a regular basis? Wouldn’t that be a slower detour? Also, in workshops and presentations the NYC DOT stated the plan could be adapted in real time if needed.
There is a fair argument for creating routes that expedite vehicular travel. There is a fair argument for making streets safe for all types of travelers.
U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez, NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, NYS Senators Julia Salazar and Kristen Gonzalez, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and NYC Council Members Jennifer Gutiérrez and Lincoln Restler released the following statement on August 20, “Greenpoint residents have demanded that Mayor Adams finally address the deadly conditions on McGuinness Boulevard and make our community safer, but he ignored us. After repeatedly changing his mind and undermining DOT’s evidence-based redesign, Mayor Adams is going forward with a plan that fails Greenpoint by preserving the most dangerous elements of this roadway that runs through the middle of our community. We will not stop fighting until we successfully prioritize the safety of our neighbors above all else.”
Make McGuinness Safe organized a rally on the night of August 27. Nearly 400 neighbors turned out to demonstrate the community’s desire for McGuinness to be safer than the latest compromised plan provides.
Also on August 27 Keep McGuinness Moving released their statement on the new plan.
“Unfortunately, the loss of hundreds of parking spots and the addition of bike lanes to a major truck route only causes greater chaos. We urge the DOT to broaden their approach and move the bike lanes to the safer residential streets, reinstitute parking, and focus on redesigning intersections where the majority of dangers between pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers exist.”
The Greenline 