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Citys Solves TrafficProblems With TunnelContinued from Page 1from crossing the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.REPORT DUE IN FALLThe first study, currently in its draft form and expected to be released in its final form sometime in the fall, was presented to Community Board Two%u2019s Transportation Committee on July 22. The mitigation measures outlined in the study are designed to eliminate the pollution %u201chot spots%u201d in Downtown Brooklyn, the areas where concentrations of traffic emissions exceed the federal standards established in the Clean Air Act.Focusing on what he called the %u201cthree major spots,%u201d Michale Horodniceanu, a principal at Urbitran, detailed proposals that called for the construction of an underpass on Adams Street for traffic heading to and from the Brooklyn Bridge, a new offramp from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that would divert traffic from Fulton Street to Ashland Place, and several lane changes along Tillary Street between Adams and Flatbush Avenue.The three primary hotspots, he said, were the intersections of Tillary and Adams, Tillary and Flatbush and the Times Plaza intersection of Flatbush, Atlantic and Fourth Avenues, which would be alleviated by the changes. Many other hot spots (17 expected with completion of the four projects) would be eliminated by these major changes, he said.%u201cThe magnitude of the problem is dictating the magnitude of the solution,%u201d he told the handful of people present at the meeting at the Brooklyn War Memorial.Linda Corcoran, assistant vice president of planning and design at OBD painted a grim picture of the future of downtown Brooklyn without mitigation measures. %u201cNew York State is required to meet Clean Air Standards by January of 1988. New developments are not allowed to create new hotspots,%u201d she said. %u201cThe City has to say no to these projects or be prepared for sanctions from the Federal government. Changes must be made to accommodate the impact of the projects and the problems that already exist.%u201d The Office of Business Development commissioned the $200,00 study last December when it became apparent that the four projects it was sponsoring in Downtown Brooklyn would worsen an already critical air quality program.NEED AN UNDERPASSThe current and expected pollution levels could not be alleviated without the building of an underpass, according to Horodniceanu. Current high emission levels at the intersection of Tillary and Adams and the immediately surrounding area are caused by congestion and slow moving traffic at the intersection, where cars turn left and right from Tillary Street onto Adams Street in the direction of the bridge and two lanes of traffic also traveled in a straight line down Adams toward the bridge, with approximately 2400U rb itra n A s s o c ia te s ' J o h n H o ro d n ic e a u an d O B D %u2019s L in d a C o rc o ra n d is p la y a m ap o fd o w n to w n \ d in g c a rs tu rn in grig h t o n to A d a m s S tre e t th a t w ill fa c e le s s c o n g e s tio n tra v e llin g to th e B ro o k ly n B ridg e.(P h o e n ix /K o c h P h o to )New developments are not allowed to create hotspots. The City has tosay no to these projects or be prepared for sanctions from the Federalgovernment. Changes must be made to accommodate the impact.cars per hour passing through the intersection.The tunnel planned would begin near the intersection of Johnson Street and Adams Street, where two lanes of traffic heading for the bridge would be routed underground, to free the movement of left and right turning cars at Tillary Street. In the tunnel the two lanes would merge into one and would travel directly to the left most lane leading onto the bridge. The turning traffic from Tillary Street would travel via the right lane onto the bridge.%u201cCarbon monoxide emissons are drastically increased when traffic is slow. Traffic should travel at 28-25 mph which is about ten times faster than you are going now,%u201d Horodniceanu said. Traffic traveling south from the bridge will travel on two lanes through the tunnel, he added.Nearby, at the intersection of Jay and Tillary Streets, the study proposes lane changes to accommodate rush hour traffic. On the eastern side of Jay Street, the 14-foot sidewalk would be reduced to ten feet to create an extra left turn lane from Jay Street onto Tillary. A 10-foot sidewalk that runs along the playground on the northern side of Tillary Street would be reduced to eight feet to gain a separate left turning lane for traffic turning from Jay Street west onto Tillary.The second major change proposed in the study affected traffic existing from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway onto the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The proposed change would create an exit ramp that would lead to Navy Street with traffic routed down Ashland Place.%u201cWe found that approximately 75 percent of the traffic coming off the BQE is bound for either side of Flatbush Avenue and only 25 percent of the traffic continues south on Flatbush Avenue,%u201d Horodniceanu explained. %u201cBy providing a by-pass onto Ashland Place we will reduce the impact of Flatbush Avenue for a long stretch,%u201d he said, adding that using that particular street as a bypass was not %u201cwonderful%u201d but it would alleviate the Flatbush Avenue problem.ASHLAND WIDENEDTo accommodate a larger influx of traffic, Ashland Place would be widened to create an additional lane southbound, while northbound would remain one lane. Two options were considered in the study for widening Ashland Place. One would create two lanes of traffic in either direction, the other would only add one extra lane heading south. Horodniceanu described the one lane change as the most logical solution to the current problem, but predicted that in the future the street may be widened again.To create the extra lane, the sidewalk on Ashland Place between DeKalb and Fulton Streets will be cut back to approximately seven feet on the western side of the street, a non-residential area. In addition, a pedestrian barrier would be erected to separate the street and sidewalk and to discourage cars from stopping along the curb.%u201cThe change would serve to maximize safety and minimize stopping,\ceanu explained. A strictly enforced ban on parking along Ashland Place would also prevent any blocking of traffic, and traffic agents and crossing guards would be utilized for the enforcement. The street w-ould be open to commercial traffic, an element in the plan that CB2 committee chair Roy Vanasco said would create resistance in the community if there would be %u201cten-ton trailers bouncing all over the place.%u201dTo further increase the smooth flow of traffic on Flatbush Avenue, another critical intersection, Flatbush Avenue and Tillary Street, would be altered. Traffic traveling Eastbound on Tillary Street would be banned from making left turns on Flatbush Avenue, instead making the turn at Gold Street. Traffic traveling south on Flatbush Avenue would make either a left or a right turn at Concord Street rather than at Tillary Street. Cars headed west on Tillary would be banned from a left turn onto Flatbush Avenue.Although still under study, another plan was also introduced that evening that considers banning one-passenger vehicles from crossing the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. The City does not have the authority to implement such a change, but could, if appropriate legislation was passed. The two proposals received a favorable hearing from the handful of residents present. The exact date of their release is still to be determined, but Corcoran said the two may be released together later this year.Assemblymembers Stay On Ballot Thanks To Legal ErrorContinued from Page Igraphical area,%u201d said Muir about the Vann case. %u201cThis is essentially Pecoraro, again, on all counts.%u201dVann%u2019s attorney, Esmarelda Simmons, argued that if the board ruled that his petitions were invalid it would %u201cdisenfranchise%u201d the voters who had signed their names in support of the two candidates. %u201cFor 12 years we have been doing it this way,%u201d she said, %u201cand Pecoraro does not apply.%u201dWith Muir pacing nervously behind his podium in a noisy room that hindered everyone%u2019s ability to accurately hear the decisions, the board initially ruled that Vann%u2019s petitions were invalid because they did not meet the new Pecoraro standards.The atmosphere became even more tense when the attorney from the 57th A.D., Earle Tockman, came to the front of the hearing room to argue-off any similar ruling on the Nottage-Hightower-Green petitions.Insisting that he be heard over the uproar of both the audience and Muir%u2019s objections, Tockman yelled his argument that the specific objections filed against the petitions were net clear nnfi did not. use the word %u201ccandidate%u201d and inaccurately indicated exactly what point was being madeBoard of Election members were surprised at the revelation and huddled around a copy of the objection to see whether is indeed used the word %u201ccandidate.%u201d Unable to find theword, they retired for about 20 minutes to discuss the legal implications of both the Vann and Greene decisions.Returning to the hearing room, the board%u2019s legal counsel, Sidney Strauss, said that because the specific objection was not clear enough, Pecoraro would not apply to the 57th A.D. petitions. Strauss also said that the board had decided to rescind its earlier decision to invalidate Vann%u2019s petitions.Vann is being challenged by Robert Hunter and Green by Stanley F%u2019rere in the Democratic primary. Both challengers are still on the ballot.An earlier casualty at the board%u2019s July 24 hearing was Guillermo Philpotts, who had hoped to run for the Democratic State Senate nomination in the 21st District in Flatbush, against the incumbent Marty Markowitz and challenger Maurice Gumbs. Objections to Philpotts%u2019 petitions were raised by Magdalena Tattnal, Vemel Porter, Rosemarie Reitz and Benedict Alexander over the 1,493 signatures filed. The board ruled that nearly half of the signatures were invalid. Philpotts needed 1,000 signatures to remain on the ballot.Gumbs had earlier accused Markuwiu. ufsecretly supporting Philpotts%u2019 candidacy when Philpotts filed a volume of specific objections against Gumbs. Gumbs says that Philpotts had never worked on the objections at the Board of Elections office and was giventhe information by Markowitz.%u201cWe felt from the outset that Philpotts%u2019 petition was frivolous,%u201d said Gumbs in a statement he released revealing that the Brooklyn District Attorney was investigating charges of fraud and election-rigging in the case.The objection filed by Philpotts%u2019 wife, Yolanda, against Gumbs%u2019 petitions was also heard by the board, but the signatures were ruled to be valid.Sixta Ponce, a member of Community School Board 13, had filed 980 signatures for the race for Democratic District Leader in the EOth A.D. against the incumbent, Linda Minucci. The district stretches from Greenpoint to Ft. Green. Ponce needed 500 valid signatures to remain on the ballot and the board ruled that 585 were invalid, taking her out of the race.Ponce said she was not sure if she would hire a lawyer to try to put herself back into the campaign, %u201cI am not sure if it%u2019s worth it,%u201d she said, %u201cshe has a team of five lawyers.%u201d Minucci, who is waiting to stand trial September 2 on felony gambling charges, filed 3,769 signatures on a slate that included Dcmuciciuc District Leader Steve Cchr. ar.d Assemblyman Joe Lentol.The Board of Elections also reviewed the petitions of several other local heavyweights at the July 25 meeting. In the 12th Congressional District, specific objections were filedagainst Roy Innis, who is challenging the incumbent Rep. Major Owens in the Democratic Primary. Innis needed 1,250 signatures to remain on the ballot and the board found that 1,624 of the 1,958 signatures filed were valid. Bridget Taylor and Theodore Boyland had filed the complaints.The board also found that in the 11th C.D., the Hispanic candidate Sonny Zayas, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Ed Towns for the Democratic nomination, filed 3,028 valid signatures despite the objections raised by John Coker and Andres Roa.The other candidates removes ,n the ballot by the Board of Elections were on two liberal slates for party district leader posts in the 51st and 56th Assembly Districts. In the 51st A.D., Liberal Party District Leader candidates Eduardo and Maribel Robles objected to the petitions filed by Gary Tilzer and Albert Rivera. Tilzer and Rivera had also objected to the Robles slate. Tilzer and Rivera were removed; the Robles were not.Mike Karan and Dorothy Viera, candidates for Liberal District Leaders in the 56th A.D. objected to the petitions filed by Marshal and Rosalie Jackson. The Jacksons also objected to the Karan and viora nptitinns Thp Jacksons were removed, Karan and Viera remain as candidates.July 31,1986, TH E PH O EN IX, Page 3