In a move that some have called a response to the Atlantic Yards project, New York City's Department of Transportation is proposing turning 6th and 7th Avenues into one-way streets to improve traffic flow. The proposal will be officially presented at a meeting of Community Board Six on March 15th. Click here for the details.

Transportation experts have been quick to point out that converting two-way streets to one-way might boost the speed of traffic, but at the expense of the surrounding pedestrian environment. Follow the debate at Streetsblog here and the Brooklyn paper here.

The sponsors of BrooklynSpeaks have called for a comprehensive transportation plan to be developed in response to the AY proposal. This would include implementing traffic calming measures in the neighborhoods surrounding the project:

Traffic calming street designs slow vehicle traffic and treat residential streets as valuable, shared public space, where neighbors interact and children can be safe in their “front yards.” Thorough traffic calming in areas around the project site will improve pedestrian safety, neighborhood quality of life and minimize cut-through traffic on inappropriate residential streets.

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On the surface, the City's proposal would achieve the opposite by adding more traffic that would go faster, creating a less safe and hospitable environment for pedestrians using 6th and 7th Avenues. It would also be a piecemeal approach to Brooklyn's transportation problems, instead of the comprehensive approach that is needed to address the impacts of development in Downtown Brooklyn and the AY site.