The groups say that the Bloomberg Administration has failed to “articulate clear, goal-oriented transportation policies or priorities” and that “worthy city transportation initiatives are few, and many drift along as studies, failing to deliver any public benefit.”
Among other things, the letter lambastes the city for a rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn that dealt with transportation “in a superficial fashion.” It criticizes the Dept. of Transportation for “unilaterally” discarding a “traffic calming” plan for Downtown and other neighborhoods. And, it slams last year’s the Williamsburg/Greenpoint rezoning for promoting growth and ignoring transportation planning even in the face of already critical subway overcrowding.
While Brooklyn’s population is surging, the letter says that the city is continuing its decades-long failure to increase mass transit capacity in the borough. Among other things, the letter calls for a parking permit system in some neighborhoods and quick creation of Bus Rapid Transit lanes (as opposed to more years of study). Groups signing the letter range from the North Brooklyn Alliance and Park Slope Civic Council to the Bay Ridge Community Council and Fort Greene Association. The full text and more details are available at streetsblog.