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After crashes, DOT still studying intersection of Vanderbilt and Dean; fence won't be moved

So, is the intersection of Vanderbilt Avenue and Dean Street--where extended construction fencing causes southbound traffic to veer somewhat and is believed by some to have contributed to several crashes--too dangerous?

At tonight's Atlantic Yards Community Update meeting, Abigail Ikner of the Department of Transportation reported that DOT's Office of Construction Mitigation and Coordination reviewed the location as well as the traffic control devices.

The visibility allowed, she said, goes beyond the required standard, and the crashes were blamed on factors other than construction. They won't move the fence, she said, "we are continuing to look at that location."

Greenland Forest City Partners is expected to pull back the fence somewhat around that construction site, 550 Vanderbilt, toward the end of spring, but residents remained dismayed.

"It may be that there are mitigating factors [regarding the crashes]," said resident Peter Krashes, "but every accident is caused by multiple factors. Somebody drove straight into the bollard... Drivers aren't used to that kind of a lane change. You have to curve around--"

"You have a taper--" Ikner allowed.

"It's a sharp angle to the right," Krashes continued. "It's compounded by a lot of traffic." Moreover, he said, while a plexiglas window was added for both eastbound traffic on Dean and southbound traffic on Vanderbilt, when construction trucks are placed inside the fence, they block the fiew.

"There really ought to be an examination of this fence," he added. "You have four or five documented incidents since November."

"We're continuing to study" it, Ikner said. (She also said the bollard, which seems to be made of hard rubber, would be replaced.)

"It's s simple as not having a truck parked there so the window is blocked," added resident Mae Taliaferrow. "Can that be a 'No Parking' zone?"

"I'll take down your statement," Ikner said.

In other words, stay tuned.


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