Ocean Parkway Overhaul Will Make It More Dangerous, Says Assemblyman

Ocean Parkway is undergoing millions of dollars worth of renovations, but Assemblyman Dov Hikind is concerned not all of the state-funded changes being made are for the better.

Currently, Ocean Parkway is undergoing the first phase of a two-part project to make the strip less of a speedway and more of a residential boulevard. Hikind takes issue with the project’s plan to eliminate right turns along Ocean Parkway onto Avenue’s J, P, and Kings Highway, not to mention his concern for the replacement of service lane stop signs with traffic signals and the loss of some parking spaces.

Not only will these change’s be inconvenient, but Hikind feels they may in fact make Ocean Parkway more dangerous.

“I believe some of the planned changes will make Ocean Parkway less safe, create more traffic and leave motorists more confused,” Hikind wrote in a September 14 letter to NYS Department of Transportation Comissioner Matthew Driscoll.

According to Hikind, Department of Transportation reports of the impacted intersections being troubled by high numbers of crashes are in fact contradicted by accident report statistics from the local police precincts.

In an attempt to better highlight the safety hazards Hikind feels the changes are creating, he took NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on a tour of the 66th Precinct on Tuesday.