Along constrained Sixth Avenue outside school construction site, routine congestion (on video) means close calls, points to possible bigger traffic problems

With Sixth Avenue between Dean and Pacific streets constrained to two lanes to accommodate construction of a middle school at B15 (662 Pacific St., aka Plank Road), there's little margin for error. As I like to say about Atlantic Yards (and especially the arena), it's a very tight fit.

According to the School Construction Authority, if traffic must be temporarily halted to allow large deliveries, flag persons will be stationed to stop traffic and assist pedestrians.

But Sixth Avenue is already congested, and when even a van is stopped for a delivery for 38 Sixth Ave. across the street, that narrows the street to less than two lanes. So without a flag person, as shown in the videos below, it's touch and go.

Oct. 26, from street level

In the video below, looking north on Sixth Avenue, it's fortunate that there is little northbound traffic, because the southbound traffic--including, as we see later in the clip, a fire truck returning to its Dean Street station--must veer into the left lane to get around the Amazon delivery van.

 

But there are obviously challenges for fire trucks leaving the FDNY station on Dean Street just east of Sixth Avenue, since they first have to drive against the one-way street to get to Sixth Avenue, and then northbound Sixth is constrained.

Oct. 28, from above

In the video below, shot by a resident in a nearby tower, the southbound mobility transport van, at the top-most lane, was paused at a curb cut-out, apparently to pick up up a passenger. 

Meanwhile, a southbound black SUV has cleared most of the crosswalk as the light turns green for pedestrians, but has paused, apparently wary of squeezing through a lane constrained by the paused van and the northbound white vehicle, which is of course next to the construction fence.

    

As backed-up vehicles honk, the van nudges forward, encouraged by an ad hoc traffic director (from the northbound vehicle?) and at least one driver south on Sixth Avenue decides to make a u-turn. Near the end of the video, someone offers a choice comment.

Again, not a clusterf**k as can be seen regularly around the city, but the seeds of trouble. The 78th Precinct is a block south, at Bergen Street. And the Barclays Center periodically has major trucks exiting at Dean Street just west of Sixth Avenue.