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Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park infographics: what's built/what's coming/what's missing, who's responsible, + project FAQ/timeline (pinned post)

Pending questions regarding the Barclays Center Transportation Demand Management plan (deadline tomorrow night): residential permit parking; lessons from Chicago and L.A.; Carlton Avenue Bridge timing; who pays for transit service?

According to Empire State Development, the public has until July 3, 2012 (midnight) to submit comments and questions on the draft Barclays Center Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan to AtlanticYards@esd.ny.gov.

ESD will coordinate with other agencies to compile responses to all questions and will post the final TDM Plan along with responses to all questions by the beginning of August. A preliminary Q&A (below) was posted last week.

WNYC has coverage this morning, focusing on the lack of residential parking permits.

I suspect various individuals and organizations will post questions; here are some from me.

1) To what extent is the presence of free, on-street parking expected to be an incentive for arena patrons to drive? How will they be discouraged to seek free, on-street parking beyond education/encouragement to take public transit and to pre-pay for parking at area lots?

2) Wasn't all parking at the on-site Block 1129 lot to be pre-paid and pre-reserved? It seems like parking operators have left open the option to fill unsold slots for those who decide to use that lot on event days, and pay when they arrive. Is there a limit to the number of slots left open? How will the number be communicated to those coming to the lot? How will operators ensure that an excess of drivers don't seek that last set of open slots on Block 1129?

3) Those working on the TDM plan looked at the experience of several sports venues. However, they did not cite the experience of Wrigley Field in Chicago, around which there is a residential permit parking plan. Does Wrigley not have any lessons for Brooklyn?

4) The Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is supposed to draw on the pioneering CBA enacted regarding the Staples Center in Los Angeles. That CBA not only includes the developer's political support for residential permit parking, but funding to help pay for it. Why not in this case?

5) Is the Carlton Avenue Bridge on schedule to reopen before/when the arena does? Is there a plan to open the bridge with temporary street lighting and railing? Is there a specific additional TDM plan in the work to account for a Carlton Avenue Bridge that does not reopen in time?

6) The first round of Q&A suggested that the money Forest City Ratner saves by not paying for a free MetroCard linked with game/event tickets would be redeployed into advertising to encourage people not to drive. Can a minimum dollar amount of advertising spending be specified?

7) Will Forest City Ratner or others involved in the Barclays Center pay for any of the additional transit service? If a large number of expected transit users already have unlimited ride MetroCards, as officials commenting on the TDM have already said, what reason is there to think this would not be a net cost to the transit agencies, rather than an opportunity for increased revenue?

62012 May 2012 TDM Presentation Questions

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