DOT Revives Plans For Pedestrian Plaza In Sheepshead Bay

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has revived a plan to drop a Times Square-style plaza near Sheepshead Bay Road and reconfigure traffic and bus routes to make the area safer for pedestrians.

The DOT appeared to have given up on the project last year after it was attacked by community board members who argued the plan created more problems than it solved and would become a magnate for vagrants and litterbugs.

However. the board received word two weeks ago the DOT was moving forward on the proposal.

“Last June, the board basically voted it down. But with what’s been going on in Sheepshead Bay, with the traffic backups and the bus delays, DOT is working with MTA to push that plan through,” said board chairwoman Theresa Scavo, who expressed reservations about the proposal last year.

The bulk of the project remains the same: it involves closing East 15th Street, between Avenue Z and Sheepshead Bay Road, so the block could someday be made into a pedestrian plaza. The street that connects East 17th Street to Sheepshead Bay Road would also be closed, while a pedestrian island would be added at the intersection with Jerome Avenue.

Most importantly, Sheepshead Bay Road would be made into a southbound one-way between East 15th Street and Jerome Avenue, while the B36 stop will be moved from the subway entrance to the northwest corner of Avenue Z and East 15th Street. (The original proposal put the stop at the northeast corner, but the MTA asked for the location to be moved across the street, according to the DOT.)

The DOT argues the project, which is part of the city’s Vision Zero campaign, is necessary to improve pedestrian safety. Between 2007 and 2013, there were 74 injuries from motor vehicle collisions in the area ‚— seven of which resulted in serious injury or death. Most recently, a 62-year-old woman was fatally struck by a B36 bus while crossing the street at East 17th Street and Avenue Z.

Scavo said something must be done to address pedestrian safety near the subway station.

“I think they are doing the best they can under the present situation. Look, anything they could do would help the problems,” she said.

Besides the safety measures, the DOT’s plan would also create 15 new parking spaces along Sheepshead Bay Road and create more 8,000 square feet of public space to be used for public art and programming.

However, some community leaders say the plan is still a bad idea.

Steve Barrison, president of the Bay Improvement Group, sent a letter last week to the community board arguing the proposal would hurt local business and cause greater congestion on nearby streets.

“The cement islands will further restrict traffic in this very congested small area, and they are not needed, and will hurt the travel in and around the main business area,” he wrote. “Closing the two streets: East 15th and Jerome Avenue, is a huge mistake because it is like squeezing a balloon; the vehicles have to go somewhere and you force more traffic onto the surrounding already overburdened streets.”

Barrison wrote that he did agree with moving the bus stop, but had reservations about the taxi stand that is supposed to replace it. Ultimately, he said a crack down on illegal parking, as well as better signage, would be a much more effective way to solve problems around the subway station.