Politics & Government

Traffic Calming Plan For Classon Ave. Moves Forward

Plan will create a one-lane thoroughfare along much of the route.

Addressing congestion on a vital link between the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Central Brooklyn, the city Department of Transportation will move forward with plans to Classon Avenue. 

The thoroughfare will be revamped between Flushing Avenue and President Street.

The plan is to transform the avenue from its current two lanes to one 11-foot lane, including extra-wide space for parking. Areas near busy intersections like Dekalb Avenue will continue to have two lanes for vehicular traffic. (See the full DOT plan here.)

Find out what's happening in Fort Greene-Clinton Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The aim of the plan is to make the street safer for drivers and pedestrians.

“We’ve had a number of incidents on Classon Avenue, and right now people are exceeding the speed limit,” said Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Fort Greene.

Find out what's happening in Fort Greene-Clinton Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Between 2005 and 2009 there were 357 injuries from traffic accidents for an average of 71.4 a year. That puts Classon Avenue in the 76 percentile for accidents in the borough (meaning three-quarters of the streets in Brooklyn are safer than Classon), according to the DOT.

Due to the traffic back-ups at Atlantic Avenue, Classon will have three lanes for the half-block south of Atlantic to allow more cars to “stack” while waiting for the light. The extra lane will be formed by eliminating 11 parking spaces.

Unlike nearby Washington and Vanderbilt avenues in Prospect Heights, there is no plan for a bike lane on Classon Avenue.

Work is slated to take place in March and April of 2012.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Fort Greene-Clinton Hill