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Politics & Government

Classon Avenue Will Soon Slow Down

Plan to eliminate one lane on much of the route comes in response to concerns expressed by residents, elected officials.

"Traffic calming" is coming to Classon Avenue.

Without explicitly endorsing a city Department of Transportation plan to cut a lane of vehicular traffic along much of the thoroughfare, Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Brooklyn, linked the proposal to a series of incidents caused by speeding cars, SUVs and trucks.

“We’ve had a number of incidents on Classon Avenue, and right now people are exceeding the speed limit,” James said in February. James had asked the DOT to look at traffic calming measures for the strip.

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The traffic calming project has now been presented to Community Board’s 2, 3, 8, and 9—with the DOT receiving the support of Boards 2, 3 and 8.

The proposed plan involves painting parking lane lines on both sides of the street to define the parking area. Where traffic volumes are low, a single 11-foot wide center travel lane and wide parking lanes will be implemented. In busier sections, two 10-foot wide travel lanes will be marked, in addition to two 7-foot wide parking lanes. The addition of three traffic signals for the half-block south of Atlantic Avenue is meant to allow more cars to wait for the light.

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Classon Avenue will also be re-surfaced south of Atlantic Avenue, and signal timing will be adjusted to improve traffic flow. The anticipated schedule for installation of these facilities is Spring 2012.

Patch that there were 357 injuries from traffic accidents on Classon Avenue between 2005 and 2009.

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