Will sidewalks close around the arena? Partly, during construction of towers

The Empire State Development Corporation has posted (also embedded below) 68 questions and responses from the 6/14/11 public meeting on traffic issues.

I've already highlighted some of the questions and responses, including the capacity of sidewalks on Dean Street, plans for the surface parking lot, the impact of traffic on the Dean Street Playground, a post-arena opening traffic study, and the Transportation Demand Management plan.

Sidewalk closures coming

The question:

53. Please discuss the timetable for sidewalk closure on the Arena block while the Arena is in operation.

The answer:

Once the Arena opens all sidewalks are expected to be open as well, although during construction of the remaining buildings on the Arena block, there is the potential for intermittent partial sidewalk closures in the vicinity of that construction work. FCRC has stated that B2 (at the northeast corner of Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street) will be under construction by the Arena opening. Any sidewalk closures will be included in the construction alerts posted on ESD’s website and distributed to the community boards and residents. No sidewalk closings (or partial closings) would take place without NYCDOT or NYCDOB approval, and they would require a Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT) plan to address and minimize the impacts of the construction work.

(Emphasis added)

On the other hand, the sidewalks in places will be constricted, so closing sidewalks and having the passageway diverted to the street will make things more complicated.

070811 Response to Questions re Traffic from June 14 Public Meeting