Criticism For The MTA’s Handling Of Beverley Road Closure

If anyone had to ride the subway last weekend, you know what a headache it was. But the lack of a Q train wasn’t the only thing that frustrated residents last week – neighbor Steven Davidson, who lives on Marlborough Road, wrote to us about the closure of Beverley Road (between Marlborough and East 16th) that occurred because of the subway construction.

Considering this is far from the only time the MTA will be doing track work in our neighborhood, we wanted to get your thoughts on last weekend’s road closure and what you would like to see happen in the future.

Steven said he was displeased to see there “was no advance notice beyond the no parking posters put up on Thursday of any issue” and said there was “no signage other than on the gates and cones closing the street.” When we reached out to the MTA about this, they said that “community boards and elected officials are always notified of upcoming street closures, well in advance. In this case, New York City Transit notified both the community board and elected officials on September 4 of weekend word/street closures that occurred last weekend.”

The neighbor also told us he was not happy with signage during the construction.

“Signs directing drivers to turn right (south) on Rugby, left (east) on Cortelyou, and left (north) on E 17th St would result in less travel through side streets fro most drivers and would reduce the burden on Marlborough Road neighbors,” he wrote to us. “Note that the traffic reaching Marlborough Road must travel to Church Ave before heading east again.”

Stressing that Marlborough Road is a “major pedestrian and bicycling thoroughfare, especially on weekends, for many people heading to the Parade Grounds for sports activities and Prospect Park in general,” Steven said that “adding the large volume of traffic detoured off Beverley Road increases risks to these pedestrians.”

To address this, the neighbor said temporary signs telling drivers to slow down, as well as watch for pedestrians and bicyclists, should have been posted.

“I am not a traffic engineer, but I’m astonished by the cavalier attitude to the neighborhood the MTA displays in undertaking what I’m sure is necessary work,” Steven wrote. “I have no wish to delay or complicate the work on our NYC subway line, but I do think consideration of basic courtesy in communication burden on detoured drivers and safety for the many pedestrians/bicyclists in the neighborhood should be part of the MTA plan.”

In response to Steven’s concerns, the MTA wrote to us:

“While we understand it may be an inconvenience to residents, and we appreciate their patience as we complete this vital track work, these street closures are necessary to accommodate work vehicles and heavy equipment such as cranes used during track panel maintenance/installation to be stationed as close to the subway tracks as possible. We have found that posting the signs too far in advance either leads to confusion, or they are torn down. As a result, it is our policy (city-wide) to post no parking or street closure signs on the Thursday prior to the upcoming weekend work.”

What was your experience with the road closure over the weekend? Would you have wanted the MTA to do things differently? If so, what would you like to see happen in the future?