In Aug, the de Blasio administration announced a plan to fix the 70-year-old Brooklyn-Queens Expressway… or at least extend its life by a couple decades. The four-part plan focuses on preserving the structure; executing immediate and ongoing maintenance; expanding monitoring and enforcement; and developing a long-term, community-based vision for the corridor. It also calls for decreasing traffic, instead of increasing capacity to extend the life of the BQE another 20 years.
The Mayor said he wants to get trucks off the road by enforcing capacity limits. He says much of the traffic could be diverted to trains and cargo ferries.
“We can use this opportunity to rethink how people, goods, and services move around our city,” de Blasio said.
NYC Transportation Commissioner Henry Gutman added there is no reason to have large vehicles making small deliveries. His plan includes creating “intermodal distribution centers” in all five boroughs, “where things can be off-loaded into electric carts and small electric vehicles for the last mile delivery.”
The last major proposal for the BQE included six years of construction and a temporary road on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
Source: ABC 7
