McGuinness has two modes of existence: 1) as an empty highway for speeding; 2) as a rush-hour traffic jam. This is because a large traffic volume is not local. However, locals in Greenpoint who drive fear that a road diet will "make traffic worse." In fact, the induced demand of through-traffic on the the multi-lane highway will fall away when the excess lanes are removed -- and this will actually IMPROVE conditions for local drivers in the neighborhood. It's a similar situation for parking. Local drivers fear that removing parking on McGuinness will make it harder for them to park. But parking on side streets fills up with non-local vehicles during the day, forcing local residents returning by car at the end of the day to compete with them. DOT could solve this with a residential parking permit program. DOT, please make sure your traffic study accounts for LOCAL traffic volumes (ie trips that start/end in Greenpoint) versus THROUGH traffic volumes -- this will provide the evidence needed to address the fears of local drivers who worry that reducing car lanes will harm them (it won't -- it will simply curb the elastic demand of through traffic). Please also consider what a local residential parking program would look like -- this will provide the evidence needed to address the fears of local drivers who worry that reducing parking lanes will harm them (it won't -- eliminating parking on McGuinness will provide space for protected bike lanes and non-car users, and a parking permit program would protect local drivers from having to compete for non-local parking). Please note this comment applies to all of McGuinnes Blvd.



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