Two-Way Traffic On Washington Street Is Dangerous, Residents Say

DUMBO, BROOKLYN — Ceaseless honking and constant gridlock have Washington Street residents wishing it could be a one-way street again.

“This is madness!” wrote Jamel Talbi wrote on his Change.org petition to return Washington to a one-way street.

“Between the residents, visitors, deliveries and commercial traffic, Washington Street can no longer safely support two way traffic.”

The petition, which asks the Department of Transportation to reinstitute one-way traffic between Front and York streets, had garnered 94 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

The City first instituted two-way traffic on Washington Street between Front and York in 2010, according to Brownstoner, who first reported the petition.

Since then, the NYPD has received more than 50 complaints about incessant traffic, blocked driveways, illegal parking and idling engines, city data shows.

Talbi was driven to start the petition because two-way traffic puts pedestrians at risk and the resultant honking drives him and his neighbors up the wall, he wrote.

“Those of us who have been in the neighborhood long enough can remember when Washington Street used to be one way only traffic,” wrote Talbi. “There was little traffic congestion, a more pedestrian-friendly feel and fewer incidents.”

“Now, cars are forced to squeeze by each other as people try to navigate the ensuing labyrinth to cross the street.”

Many petitioners agreed with Talbi and several voiced similar concerns.

“The current situation is dangerous,” wrote one petitioner.

“Add in tourists and photographers and the situation is only getting worse,” said another.

A Department of Transportation spokesman told Patch that the agency would look into the matter.

Image via Wikimedia Commons