nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...

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