Sunset Park Residents Urge Safety Over Truck Routes as DOT Expands Freight Network
Sunset Park residents have demanded the Mamdani administration prioritize safety improvements on Third Avenue before approving new truck routes, as the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) plan to expand freight corridors faces community backlash. The proposed redesign, which would add truck routes to Second Avenue and extend Third Avenue southward into Bay Ridge, has been criticized for potentially increasing traffic in a neighborhood already plagued by pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.
What Happened?
Residents of Sunset Park, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a history of traffic-related deaths, have pleaded with the city to address safety concerns on Third Avenue before finalizing the DOT’s truck route expansion. The agency’s proposal, part of a 2023 law mandating a truck route map revamp, includes designating Second Avenue as a local truck route between 29th and 58th Streets and extending Third Avenue’s corridor to 86th Street in Bay Ridge. The plan, which requires public comments until June 9, is set for implementation by September 15.
Brooklyn Community Board 7 Chair Julio Peña III accused the DOT of “forc[ing] our neighborhood to absorb massive commercial truck traffic increases without corresponding safety protection,” in a June 6 letter to DOT Commissioner Flynn. The board has long opposed the plan, citing the corridor’s record of over 80 deaths or life-altering injuries in seven years, according to Transportation Alternatives.
Why It Matters
The proposed truck route expansion has reignited debates over urban planning in a neighborhood where 16.6% of residents live near proposed freight corridors, the highest rate in Brooklyn. Third Avenue, already a truck route, features eight lanes for vehicles and a noisy, aging expressway that pedestrians must cross. A stalled 2023 plan to implement a “road diet” and protected bike lanes—backed by Community Board 7—aims to reduce crossing distances and noise but has been delayed for years.
Council Member Alexa Avilés, who represents Sunset Park, criticized the DOT for “doubling down on freight traffic” instead of reducing it. She called for removing Third Avenue from the truck route network to prevent “multiple parallel corridors for freight traffic” in a community already facing “environmental and street safety challenges.” The DOT maintains that the new routes will keep trucks off residential streets, but critics argue the plan risks worsening congestion and safety issues.
What May Happen Next?
The DOT’s truck route expansion could face further delays if community opposition persists. Bay Ridge lawmakers, including State Senator Andrew Gounardes, have already urged the agency to reject the plan, warning it could “undermine Vision Zero progress” and harm local businesses. Public comments on the redesign, which included over 200 mentions of “Third Avenue,” may pressure the DOT to revise its proposal before the September deadline.
Residents and officials also await the outcome of a separate push to finalize the stalled Third Avenue redesign, which includes road narrowing and bike lanes. Without such improvements, advocates argue, the new truck routes could exacerbate existing dangers. The DOT has not provided modeling to confirm its claim that the routes will not increase truck traffic, leaving unanswered questions about the impact of “induced demand” on local streets.
