The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a local development corporation comprised of the area’s business leaders, academic institutions, real estate development concerns and cultural organizations, today announced its support for the Bloomberg Administration’s PlaNYC transportation agenda, including its congestion pricing plan. Noting that the economic viability of New York City is dependent upon greater sustainability and a successful, multi-modal transportation network, the Downtown Partnership called on the state legislature to enact the administration’s proposal in its entirety without delay.

The Mayor’s transportation agenda aims to significantly reduce traffic congestion and create a sustainable funding source for adding capacity to the City’s mass transit network. Because of the strong inter-relation of all parts of the transportation agenda, the Partnership urged the approval of the entire plan.

“The Partnership applauds the Mayor’s vision for a greener and greater city,” said Robert Catell, Co-Chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and CEO of KeySpan Energy. “The Partnership shares and supports the underlying concept of a long-term transportation plan that enhances the City’s ability to grow in a way that is economically competitive, while improving quality of life and the environmental health of the City.”

“One of Downtown Brooklyn’s greatest strategic advantages is its transit infrastructure’” said Alan Fishman, Co-Chair of the Partnership and Chairman of the Independence Community Foundation. “In continuing to position Downtown Brooklyn as a center for business, residential, academic and cultural growth, it is essential that the City maximize this resource and fund the maintenance and improvement of the area’s transportation network.”

In order to maximize the potential for Brooklyn residents, as well as other New Yorkers, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership proposed measures to ensure an effective transportation system.

Improve Subway and Rail Service - Due to increased subway ridership that will result from congestion pricing and future growth, improvements should be made to existing service and stations to accommodate and better manage increased demand. Some feasible and effective suggestions for short-term improvements include:

• More frequent service on non-peak subways – numerous subway lines in Downtown Brooklyn have the capacity to add more trains per hour, which would help reduce peak hour congestion.
• Resume express service on the F line – express service would reduce travel time to Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan for residents of southern Brooklyn.
• Increase frequency of service on the G line – the G line serves the growing Brooklyn communities of Downtown Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant: an immediate increase in service is warranted.
• Free street transfers – many subway lines in Downtown Brooklyn intersect, with no underground station connection. Free street transfers give riders more options and create more direct routes.
• Bring Downtown Brooklyn subway stations to a state of good-repair – poor conditions in Downtown’s subway stations do not reflect the high levels of growth and investment, from both the private and public sectors, occurring throughout the area.

More effective Use of Roadways – A few of PlaNYC’s transportation initiatives directly aim to reduce congestion by managing the roadways more effectively. Downtown Brooklyn would greatly benefit from this approach and would further benefit from other much-needed initiatives such as:

• Residential permit parking – a permit parking program in Downtown’s residential communities can mitigate against increased parking demand that may result from congestion pricing and will reduce air pollution from cars searching for parking spaces.
• Eliminate government parking placard abuse – at present 43% of all publicly available curbside parking in the Downtown core is occupied with a vehicle with a government parking permit. This increases search-traffic, which leads to pollution, and prevents shoppers and visitors from using these spaces.
• Manage curbside parking – innovative policies such as the expansion of muni-meters and market-rate curbside parking should be considered.
• Re-route Downtown Brooklyn buses – a routing system that more effectively addresses rider’s needs will increase ridership, improve efficiency and enhance the pedestrian experience in Downtown Brooklyn.

“Investment in the area’s subway stations will improve service, increase demand, and send a strong message to city residents that the public sector is serious about its plan for the future,” said Harvey Schultz, Chair of the Partnership’s Transportation Committee and Senior Vice President of Muss Development. “Furthermore, introducing a residential permit parking program and taking a tougher stance on parking violations would mitigate increased parking demand and more effectively manage the current parking strain on area residents. We look forward to working with the City and other stakeholders to address these issues.”
 
The full Downtown Brooklyn Partnership transportation policy memo with recommended Downtown enhancements can be accessed by following this link.