Designers Propose Changes To BQE In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Plans to reduce the great divide caused by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in one part of Brooklyn are now a reality, but as CBS 2HD's Magee Hickey reports, three big questions remain.
At issue is what to do about a deep trench caused by the BQE where it slices through the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and the Columbia Street Waterfront District.
At a community meeting Monday night, designers unveiled three possible ways to fix the ditch that would include reducing noise, improving safety and making this grim area just a little bit prettier.
The first and least expensive proposal, according to the Brooklyn Newspaper, would be to plant 412 trees and an acre of greenery along the BQE-created chasm, making it perhaps one of the greenest parts of Brooklyn.
The cost is estimated at $10 million.
Proposal number two involves building six lightweight bicycle and pedestrian bridges over the ditch at a price tag of between $20 and $45 million.
The most expensive plan is an $85 million energy-generating latticed, steel canopy. The so-called "green canopy" along the entire cavern from Atlantic to Hamilton Avenue would shield the view of traffic, reduce noise and create its energy from the sun.
One City transportation official said the biggest challenge would be finding the money to pay for and maintain the project.
