As new report cites delays at Fourth & Atlantic, a reminder: Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park traffic study coming sooner than expected (after 1,500 units)

This Brooklyn Intersection Is The Worst In The State, Study Finds, Patch wrote yesterday: 

Drivers crossing through an intersection in the heart of Brooklyn will spend more time stuck at traffic lights each day than anywhere else in the state, according to a new report.

Atlantic Avenue and Fourth Avenue — the bustling intersection steps from the Barclays Center and Atlantic Terminal — has been rated the worst intersection in New York for the number of hours per day drivers are delayed waiting for a light to change, according to the study by analytics firm INRIX.

Drivers lose an average of 1,086 hours each day stuck at the Brooklyn crossing, more than any of the 18,560 intersections analyzed in the state, according to the report.

The study found that more than half of the 76,000 or so cars driving through Atlantic and Fourth avenues each day were stopped, waiting an average of 51.2 seconds each time.

What exactly that means, however, is unclear. First, it says nothing about safety. As far as I know, pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers have more trouble at the nearby intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.

Second, it doesn't explain whether different timing of that signal, as well as others, would improve traffic flow and, if so, whether there are trade-offs. It's hard to suss out the full report, which is not public, but I suspect that INRIX is, not surprisingly, trying to sell some services.

Here's a screenshot from the report, which suggests that the Level of Service (LOS) is within the category of D. (Also, note that the slightly smaller dots indicate locations not in the scorecard.)

Study coming

That said, the area around that key intersection--including Atlantic, Flatbush, and Fourth avenues--has long been a bottleneck and a study triggered by Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is coming, and sooner than we think.

I wrote in May 2019 that, according the Second Memorandum of Environmental Commitments, a traffic study is required after "the issuance of certificates of occupancy for 1,500 Project dwelling units." 

With 1242 units are complete, that means another building must be finished. At the time, both the B4 tower, 18 Sixth Avenue, and B15, 664 Pacific, were due in the first half of 2022, but now 664 Pacific will start opening this summer and 18 Sixth later this year.

Even if those building don't fill up immediately, it's reasonably to assume that the benchmark--Temporary Certificates of Occupancy for the lower floors--will be reached later this year, triggering the study.

The study will be subject to a scope approved by the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to "refine the signal timing and other traffic mitigation measures" previously prescribed, to "provide further information as to the implementation date" regarding required mitigation measures (presumably not yet enacted), and "identify potential additional measures to address unmitigated significant adverse impacts" identified in previous studies.

So stay tuned. One wild card may be the operation of the Barclays Center, which, if it is not yet open to full capacity, may not see its full impact measured.

Another study is required "following substantial completion of Project construction," which could take until 2035.