Unresolved questions ventilated by NY1: sidewalks near arena have been measured as narrower than publicly announced, but Forest City says they've been approved

NY1, in Residents Worry Whether Prospect Heights Can Accommodate Barclays Arena's Traffic, explains that, yes, Forest City Ratner will encourage arena-goers to use mass transit, and will arrange for drivers to pre-pay for identified garage space.

Unmentioned, however, are the drivers who will be looking for free on-street parking, especially in the absence of residential permit parking.

The sidewalk issue

Then there's sidewalk space or what I've called the "Dean Street Squeeze." As NY1 reports:

With the Barclays Center going up in the background in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, Peter Krashes measures the widths of the sidewalks that lead into and out of the arena. He and other members of the Dean Street Block Association worry about the crowds the 18,000-seat arena will attract.

The response? NY1 reports:

As for sidewalk congestion, Forest City says there will be workers to guide pedestrians through main thoroughfares to and from the arena and that both state and city officials have approved the sidewalk capacity for the crowds.

That doesn't actually resolve the question. There still should be well over 1000 people using narrow Dean Street from the surface parking lot alone. It isn't a main thoroughfare.

And just because the city and state have approved the sidewalk capacity--I thought it was just the city--doesn't mean they've measured it correctly. That was the point of a whole, detailed effort by Atlantic Yards Watch.