‘Clear Curbs’ Pilot Program Launches Monday (3/19) On Flatbush Avenue

PARK SLOPE/PROSPECT HEIGHTS/DOWNTOWN – One part of Mayor de Blasio’s five-point “Congestion Action Plan” to ease traffic in the five boroughs launches on Monday, March 19, on Flatbush Avenue.

Clear Curbs, a six-month pilot program, will restrict curbside access during peak hours to reduce backup on travel lanes. The pilot program will be tested in three locations—midtown Manhattan; Roosevelt Avenue, Queens; and Flatbush Avenue (from Tillary Street down to Grand Army Plaza), Brooklyn.

Here’s what the Clear Curbs pilot program entails:

• NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) will restrict curbside parking and loading on both sides of Flatbush Avenue during weekday peak hours (7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm)
• Regulations will allow expeditious pick-up and drop-off of passengers and deliveries to off-street loading docks
• NYPD will assign additional officers to Clear Curbs pilot locations to enforce the new restrictions and keep the curbs clear of vehicles
• DOT will monitor operations during the six-month pilot and reassess the data collected later in the year

Flatbush Avenue business owners should note that deliveries are allowed at off-street loading docks at all times. Curbside deliveries on Flatbush will only be permitted during midday hours, from 10am to 4pm. Businesses are encouraged to schedule deliveries during off-hours. DOT will offer technical assistance in transitioning to less congested periods. For more information, contact ohdnyc@dot.nyc.gov

The four other initiatives in the Mayor’s “Congestion Action Plan” include: Clear Intersections, expanding Block-the-Box enforcement to reduce gridlock; Clear Lanes, keeping traffic moving on midtown Manhattan crosstown streets by creating a continuous curbside moving lane during weekday peak hours (7am to 7pm); Clear Zones, reducing congestion in commercial districts outside Manhattan (in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island); and Clear Highways, reducing congestion on the arterial highway system.

The Clear Curbs pilot launches on the same day as a project that will close a block on Dean and northbound lanes on Flatbush (between Dean Street & 5th Avenue) for four nights for paving and striping.