DOT releases proposal to fix double parking issue on Brighton Beach street
The plan would turn the block of Brighton 11th Street between Ocean View Ave and Brighton Beach Ave from two-way to one-way, while adding angled parking spots.
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The New York City Department of Transportation has released a proposal to fix the large amount of double parking on the two-block stretch of Brighton 11th Street between Ocean View and Brighton Beach Avenues.
"I have to look around at least 20 minutes for a parking spot," said Sharon Waiss, who tells News 12 she is often late for work on Brighton 11th because of the congestion.
"It's been an issue, it's always an issue, and it's going to be an issue for a long, long time," agreed Renat Akhmed, who lives there. "Just physically, there is not enough space for everyone."
After years of complaints, the DOT did a parking study on the area, and agreed it is an issue.
While it is not the final plan, it did come up with an idea to fix it - turn the block between Ocean View and Brighton Beach Avenues into a one-way street, and then put angled parking spots in what is currently the left lane.
"That would be great," said Waiss, "more spots."
"It's gonna be better than now for sure," said Akhmed, "Is it the best? I don't know."
Besides creating more long-term parking for residents and people who work in the area, the DOT plan says it would also double the number of short-term metered spots, with the idea that people would be leaving more frequently, and something would always be opening up.
"We definitely need more metered spots," approved Ira Spodek, who lives nearby.
Waiss was more skeptical, however, saying, "People park without feeding the meters, especially in summertime when you want to go to the beach, and they're in a hurry. I don't think that's really going to make an impact."
Over the phone, the Brighton Beach BID tells News 12 that while it is excited something is being done, it also has some questions about logistics.
Among the biggest questions was how the City would coordinate the new flow of cars with the traffic light at the end of the block, and the other one just a few feet after the turn onto Brighton Beach Avenue, at the intersection with Coney Island Avenue - a concern shared by Akhmed.
"It's going to be congestion like crazy, plus there's a bus stop there," he said, "so they have to either move a little bit the bus stop, or create some kind of different system of the traffic lights, because like all the time you're going to hit traffic lights."
The BID says it wants to see exactly how the City's traffic engineers plan to make everything work in their final plan, before weighing in on whether or not it approves of it.
