nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...
nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...
nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...
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A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region<br />
to transit the roadway due to chronic congestion during much of the day. NYSDOT<br />
currently is conducting an EIS to assess long-term investment options aimed at improving<br />
conditions on the Gowanus. One possible near-term solution would be to allow trucks to<br />
use the Expressway’s HOV lane during off-peak periods. This policy shift would provide<br />
extra capacity for trucking on the Gowanus, and could reduce incidents by segmenting<br />
commercial traffic out of the general traffic stream. This improvement also could be beneficial<br />
in the medium/long term, where improvements as part of the Gowanus rehabilitation<br />
program could be used to further separate passenger and commercial vehicles. As<br />
part of the EIS, NYSDOT also is evaluating new ramps from the South Brooklyn waterfront<br />
to the Gowanus at 65 th Street. These ramps also could be incorporated as part of a<br />
package of <strong>freight</strong> movement improvements.<br />
As shown in Figure 5.12, there are overhead obstructions on both sides of the Brooklyn-<br />
Queens Expressway in the Brooklyn Heights area. The eastbound (northbound) roadway<br />
runs on top of the westbound (southbound) roadway in this area, and the Brooklyn<br />
Heights Es<strong>plan</strong>ade and Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges represent the overhead<br />
clearance constraints for the eastbound roadway. The westbound Brooklyn-Queens<br />
Expressway has no posted height limitations. The eastbound roadway is posted with a<br />
12-foot two-inch height restriction south of Brooklyn Heights warning large trucks to exit<br />
at Exit 27 (Atlantic Avenue) or 28A (Cadman Plaza/Brooklyn Bridge). Navy Street<br />
(Exit 29B) is the point where eastbound trucks generally return to the Brooklyn-Queens<br />
Expressway.<br />
<strong>Transportation</strong> Impacts<br />
Allowing trucks to use the Gowanus HOV lane would significantly benefit truck operations,<br />
as over 600 trucks per day would shift from the general use to the HOV lanes.<br />
Regional truck movement would benefit from the use of the less congested HOV lanes<br />
during periods of no commuter use. One limitation of the HOV lanes is that they are<br />
oriented toward accessing the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel; as such, the benefit for Queensbound<br />
trucks on the I-278 corridor would be minimal. In addition, the facility would have<br />
limited use as a <strong>freight</strong> facility unless it could be expanded to provide two-directional<br />
travel (NYSDOT is studying a two-directional HOV facility as part of Gowanus reconstruction/rehabilitation<br />
projects currently being developed). The 65 th Street ramps would<br />
improve connectivity between the South Brooklyn waterfront (for which there are several<br />
<strong>freight</strong>-related development <strong>plan</strong>s, including an auto port) and the Gowanus. However,<br />
absent additional truck capacity on the Gowanus, these improvements would not necessarily<br />
improve traffic operations as the Gowanus lacks the capacity to accommodate additional<br />
truck trips.<br />
Removing the physical constraint on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway would reduce<br />
truck diversion to local streets and further improve truck operations on the Southern<br />
Crossing and Eastern corridors. Increasing truck throughput on the Gowanus without<br />
solving the clearance problem on the Brooklyn-Queens would simply increase diversion<br />
of trucks to local streets off of the latter, underscoring the need for a corridor-wide solution<br />
to the problem of congestion.<br />
Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 5-47