We noticed a number of traffic-related stories in recent days, particularly as they relate to Brooklyn neighborhoods that are not as quiet as they used to be.
1) Red Hook now has its first Fairway-related death. A woman run down by a van on Van Brunt Street, by a Fairway shopper died yesterday, further angering residents that have been asking the city for more lights and stop signs. The Department of Transportation isn't planning to start studying Red Hook traffic until the fall unless, possibly, more people get pancaked by drivers rushing home to devour their Fairway lobsters.
2) Last week, the MTA admitted the L Train is way overcrowded and it's getting worse. This week, onNYTurf weighs in with an indictment of the Department of Planning and suggest Williamsburg and Greenpoint are going to choke to death on traffic. City planners, onNYTurf argues, are in denial about what Billburg and Greenpoint streets and subway lines will be like after tens of thousands of new residents move in.
3) Also in North Brooklyn, the Greenpoint Star reports that DOT is installing video cameras and "weight in motion" sensors to catch trucks illegally using residential streets. The cameras will snap phots of license tags and the owners of the vehicle will get tickets.