Public plazas aren't just for Manhattan. As part of DOT's Public Plazas program, one outer Brooklyn neighborhood has seen a traffic island turned into a pedestrian plaza. Matt Chaban reports on the praise it has earned.
"'It used to be, you'd come off the subway, everybody would pile up on the curb, if you were lucky, you would catch the stop sign, if not, well, just hope there were no cars coming,'
Essentially, the department took an A-shaped intersection and turn it into a V-shaped one. In addition to creating more space for pedestrians, buses are no longer jackknifing around Ashford Avenue, a particular impediment to traffic, according to Mr. Wiley-Schwartz. He said there was some slight opposition from drivers when the plaza was first proposed, but it has since abated after the plaza's construction.
In a phone interview, Walter Campbell, district manager for the local community board, agreed that the project has been almost universally applauded."
FULL STORY: Times Square Comes to East New York: Pedestrian Plazas Aren’t Just for Midtown
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