NEW YORK – Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights was undergoing a redesign project that would bring the community a connected bike lane, running the half mile from Underhill Plaza to Eastern Parkway. It is a stretch of road with a long story of crash.
The plan was to change some two-way streets to a one-way street and implement traffic calming measures such as shortened crosswalks and detours in the middle of the road.
The project was mostly complete when it suddenly went on hiatus in September. So, the Department of Transportation has placed signs linking pedestrians to a survey to find out what people think of the plan.
Gib Veconi, president of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Counciltells CBS New York’s Hannah Kliger that the sudden decision left them hanging.
“This is a project that has had more than two years of community engagement. I mean, five workshops on the road over those two years, more than four presentations to the community council,” he recalls.
Supporters of the redesign, such as Jackson Chabot, Director of Advocacy and Organizing at Open floorsthey are anxious for a resolution.
“Please complete the project. And when you do, go back and ask the same questions and really understand better what people are thinking,” says Chabot.
However, Raul Rivera, a TLC driver who runs a social media group called NYC Drivers Unitehe says this can make traffic much worse.
“People need to know what is happening, because what happens is that these roads are closed, we lose access to our roads and then people find out when it is too late. So they do not need to rush this,” explains Rivera.
Rivera says it can also create problems for garbage trucks and emergency vehicles.
The February 5, the mayor he defended the delay and said he plans to make a decision soon.
“I’ve had reports from FDNY, NYPD to make sure that in no way are we going to impede the movement of traffic for emergency vehicles,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
Months after the survey was conducted, the results have not been released, and the project remains in limbo.
Neither City Hall nor the Department of Transportation immediately responded to CBS New York’s requests for comment.
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