Poll: What Do You Think Of The New Sheepshead Bay Road Traffic Plan?

The outcry over the Department of Transportation’s new traffic plan on Sheepshead Bay Road has been well documented on this site. Community leaders and civic groups have been nearly unanimous in their opposition to the Times Square-style pedestrian plaza. At a civic group meeting, neighbors seemed ready to tear the limbs off city officials for steamrolling over opposition from the community board. And businesses outside the train station reported their sales were slashed in half by the city’s decision to move the B36 bus stop to Avenue Z.

However, comments on this site as well as interviews with commuters suggest the plan has some supporters — and the neighborhood’s opinion of the project might be more nuanced than the fiery rhetoric expressed at community meetings. Why is that? Perhaps people are more likely to attend a meeting if they are angry? Or maybe the supporters are reluctant to speak up in an environment full of such vehement opposition? (If someone had spoken in favor of the changes at a meeting, we would have reported it.)

DOT says the project, part of the mayor’s Vision Zero initiative, makes the area safer. Between 2007 and 2013, there were 74 injuries from motor vehicle collisions in the area, seven of which resulted in serious injury or death, according to the city. DOT acted quickly to roll out the proposal after a 62-year-old woman was struck and killed by a B36 bus at at East 17th Street and Avenue Z.

Community leaders have called for DOT to abandon the project to allow for more comprehensive studies about how the changes affect traffic in the neighborhood, and take more input from the community to come up with another plan.

We’d like to know what our readers think and hope this provides a broader picture of community feelings about the plan. Also, if you have suggestions for improving the project, be sure to write them in the comments section. Maybe it could help policymakers as they quarrel over how to move forward?

So cast your vote and be heard!

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