One Decent Idea for the BQE, One Horrible One

A snazzy idea always gets people riled up, so there's been some chatter lately about a wacky proposal to construct a new tunnel from the Gowanus to the BQE, cutting out the portion that runs through Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Downtown Brooklyn. A much better idea, which sort of came from the New York State DOT, is to tunnel the existing cantilevered portion under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. From the New York Times:

"The rationale for the project was to create a bypass while the B.Q.E. — notorious for its lack of shoulders, impossibly short merge lanes and low clearances — is almost completely rebuilt. A tunnel, though, would live on to relieve congestion on one of the city’s most heavily traveled routes, which now carries 140,000 vehicles a day. Early state estimates — before the idea of a tunnel was formally broached — put the cost of the entire project at $254 million and predicted construction would begin in summer 2017. "

But then they get to Roy Sloane's horrific idea of DOUBLING BQE capacity in downtown Brooklyn.

"A fourth tunnel idea that would skip Brooklyn Heights entirely has been put forward by a local graphic designer, Roy Sloane. He would bore an almost three-mile tube straight under the heart of Brooklyn, from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, below the streets of Fort Greene, Boerum Hill and Park Slope, to emerge at a spot near the southern end of Red Hook. Mr. Sloane presented the idea to state transportation officials at one of the brainstorming sessions they have scheduled every month for residents.

“Why not think big?” Mr. Sloane said. “Engineers tell me that the most elegant solution to any problem is a straight line.”"

This proposal also includes keeping the existing BQE route as well, as a "local" arm.

Perhaps Mr. Sloane's background as a graphic designer does not afford him comprehension of basic transportation theory (then why is he addressing the subject?) but here is a basic fact regarding the construction of more roads, tunnels and bridges: they always create more traffic. New roads do not alleviate traffic, they create more traffic. When Robert Moses built roads with two lanes of traffic, they became jammed with two lanes of traffic. When they were expanded to three lanes, they got jammed with three lanes of traffic. When they were expanded to four lanes, guess what happened? More traffic to fill that fourth lane. Or, the LIE.

Tunneling the festering wound that is the BQE is not a bad idea (a better one might be doing away with it altogether), but building a second one is a HORRIFIC one.