Drivers say street safety redesign has made it more dangerous for them to use their parking lot
NEW YORK -- Drivers in East New York, Brooklyn, say a street redesign meant to improve safety has made it dangerous for them to pull out of their driveways.
CBS New York saw what they meant Thursday on Corzine Avenue.
"I can't see anything," resident Jaime Brown said as she pulled out of her parking lot in front of 200 Cozine. "The light is red, so now, you know, I'll take my chances."
As drivers exiting the building complex's parking lots try to merge into oncoming traffic, they say they face an obstructed view of the two-way street.
"You can't see to your left or your right," Brown explained. "At night, when you're trying to pull in, you can't even see if any bicyclists are coming."
Brown reached out to CBS New York with her concerns after she said her complaints to 311 and various agencies went mostly unanswered.
"I just need it to make sense. I need someone to either make it easier for the drivers to pull out of the driveway in a safe way or maybe push it back and put the bike lane on the other side of the street. They really should reconduct their traffic study on this block," she said.
The complaints were also echoed by angry drivers who saw CBS New York reporting on the issue.
"I can't see!" yelled a driver in a beige sedan as he tried to pull into the street.
Long-time resident Lolita Edwards also stopped to talk about the problem, saying she, too, called 311 about it.
"Before you can get out into the street to see where you're going, you're already in the middle of traffic," she said.
It's not just visibility. Residents say the bike lanes are misused, with our cameras capturing pedestrians on wheelchairs and even cars using the bike lane as a shortcut to access a street parking spot.
East New York resident Denise Gary has seen all of that in recent weeks.
"I'm so fearful that I may hit another car or another car may t-bone me coming out. I don't understand how this was part of a safety plan," she said.
The New York City Department of Transportation said last month that the project is East New York's longest protected bike lane network -- more than three miles of protected lanes designed specifically with school safety in mind.
Residents say the design can be unsafe for cyclists, too, as cars sometimes need to linger in the protected bike lane and slowly inch forward to get out of the lot safely.
A spokesperson from the DOT responded in a statement that reads: "We consulted and worked closely with more than 35 local community groups and tenant associations prior to the redesign of Cozine Avenue, which came amid concerns that street and safety improvements in Brooklyn had previously overlooked East New York. While they may be unfamiliar to residents, parking-protected bicycle lanes have historically been shown to dramatically reduce crashes and make streets safer for all users. We appreciate the community's continued feedback -- and have already adjusted the design on this block. However, we ask for patience as residents get accustomed to the redesign. In the months ahead, DOT will closely follow traffic and safety trends as we evaluate this project."
"I'm all for bike lanes as long as it's a safe condition for both the bike riders and the motorists," Edwards said.
Residents claim a simple solution to consider would be to move the bike lane across the street where there is no parking lot.
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