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The second bus boarding island will be a better place for bus drivers to pull in for a layover. Dave Colon<\/p>\n
The cutover contributes to an unworkable traffic pattern in which cyclists must proceed straight through the area while bus drivers pull into the curb. By installing the new island for layovers, DOT can route cyclists along the curb next to Brooklyn Commons, thereby eliminating the conflict between cyclists and bus drivers. The curb cut will still exist in the new setup, but the agency is designing it to accommodate the curbside protected bike lane.<\/p>\n
Work like this doesn\u2019t always happen during routine street resurfacing, so the fact that DOT decided to combine ripping up the street with new concrete with real benefits for people is a sign the agency is starting to think about how to execute its mission more rationally.<\/p>\n
Jon Orcutt, a former DOT official under mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg, said the practice of combining street resurfacing and street redesigns \u201cabsolutely has not been standard procedure, but that\u2019s not to say the current management isn\u2019t doing something about that.\u201d <\/p>\n
Such alignment \u201cwould be great, especially where you want to show off a real project with concrete, and ostensibly you\u2019re delivering a benefit,\u201d Orcutt added.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Kent-Avenue-bike-lane.jpeg\")
The Kent Avenue bike lane still looks as bad as it did during the construction of the pedestrian island next to it in 2024. Jon Orcutt<\/p>\n
That kind of coordination would deliver smoother rides and cleaner streetscapes when projects are done. By contrast, Orcutt pointed out, a pedestrian island that DOT installed next to the Kent Avenue bike lane between South Second and South Third Streets didn\u2019t include a resurfacing of the bike lane itself \u2014 an oversight that resulted in a rough-riding, construction-abused bike lane surface alongside a newly improved bike lane protection.<\/p>\n
The Jay Street upgrade is the latest in a slew of changes that the Mamdani administration is bringing to Downtown Brooklyn. The city already closed the \u201cCrashland\u201d gap<\/a> on Ashland Place\u2019s protected bike lane between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place, and paired it with a protected bike lane on Lafayette that connects to the Schermerhorn Street protected bike lane. <\/p>\n This fall, DOT will finish<\/a> a one-block extension of the Livingston Street busway, a Joralemon Street bus lane, the Flatbush Avenue protected bus lane and a new protected bike lane<\/a> on Adams Street and Boerum Place that will give cyclists a new connection to and from the Brooklyn Bridge.<\/p>\n The work in the neighborhood is not only good for keeping people alive and un-maimed, it\u2019s also a surefire way to build a more thriving neighborhood. A recent report from the Regional Plan Association on how to turn Downtown Brooklyn<\/a> into a truly great \u201cmixed-use\u201d neighborhood suggested that the city emphasize the area\u2019s transit connections and pedestrian and cycling-friendly street grid in order to attract more employers and residents.<\/p>\n The RPA study specifically suggested that DOT upgrade the Jay Street busway with a view towards fixing what the group said \u201cis currently a major impediment to the pedestrian environment.\u201d Even with the new boarding islands, the strip is likely to remain a bastion of illegal placard abuse, illegal double parking and, despite the busway regulations, heavy automobile traffic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n
![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/classic-adams-street-bs-with-restler.jpg\")