You Want Good News? I'll Give You Some Good News

Some of you may recall the Q opining that the primary problem (and there are many) with traffic on Flatbush is that there just ain't room for six slots - parking on each side and two lanes of traffic each way. Just one double-parker and it's like a House of Cars; pretty soon everything just falls apart. I fantasized that the long awaited Congestion Corridor project would reduce the driving lanes and create turn lanes where needed, thereby effectively telling dollar vans and speeders to cool it with the crazy lane changes and vroom vrooms. I've been biking up and down Flatbush and watching traffic closely (I know I know after my accident I should be riding on Bedford, but the Q is Qurious like a Quat), and I'm convinced that it would actually make traffic snarls less likely not more.

So how great was it to have DOT come down to the Ed Fanning-led Transportation Committee on Monday and propose EXACTLY that? They'll lay out the plan for the public at the full Board meeting. It's a no-brainer, though I'm sure the Scarecrow will be there complaining about reduced lanes of traffic.Hopefully the Lion and Tinman and Toto will have the votes needed to send the strawman packing. Here's a picture from the presentation, taken by none other than Ed's much younger brother Quest:

When the work to be done? SEPTEMBER! THIS September. Dang, that's gonna be a huge change, for the better I reckon.

There's also a plan to fix the boondoggle that is Lincoln/Washington/Flatbush, and to create a dedicated right turn lane when traveling south on Flatbush when you hit Empire.


Which leads me to the topic of the Flatbush Trees.

Folks.............DOT loved the application. We've been approved! That means, as soon as we finish raising the money (they're giving us as much as $2,000 to start) we can create a truly beautiful piece of art out of those ugly green eyesores. WE GOT APPROVED! The trees are going to finally get a make-over, and it may be that this becomes a revolving art project every couple years, as well as the beginning of reclaiming the whole plaza. They're going to help us at every step of the way. If you don't recall, PLG Arts signed on as partners, and we'll be working with middle-schoolers to create the hexagons needed to create le piece. So tired. Must sleep. Sleep.