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Q&A
Funding and timeline for Atlantic Avenue redesign study and implementation
0:58:19
ยท
4 min
Council Member Hudson presses for details on funding and timeline for the Atlantic Avenue redesign. Agency representatives explain the process, including the traffic study, design phase, and potential implementation timeline.
- The traffic study is estimated to take about 18 months
- Full implementation timeline could be 6-10 years for a large-scale capital project
- Short-term improvements are planned alongside the longer-term redesign process
- Funding commitments will be part of the points of agreement at the end of the rezoning process
Crystal Hudson
0:58:19
Does the funded traffic study include a fully funded redesign of Atlantic Avenue upon the completion of said study?
Dash Henley
0:58:29
Defer to Alex and Jonah on how that would be structured.
0:58:35
The study would be separate though.
0:58:38
So the study would come first and then whatever funding there would be for a project would be separate and after that.
Alex Sommer
0:58:45
Thanks.
0:58:45
And I'll add to that.
0:58:47
So that's right, as Dash mentioned, the study would be part of a post rezoning scenario.
0:58:55
And then the outcomes of that study would identify the amount of changes that could be accommodated through traffic flow and public realm and redesign and the geographies of those changes.
0:59:09
We would be working with you I think over the couple of weeks to identify different scenarios as part of that and think through what can be committed to as part of the points of agreement.
Crystal Hudson
0:59:20
Okay.
0:59:21
So is it safe to say there will be money to fully fund a redesign of Atlantic Avenue?
0:59:28
Given all of that, I'm just kind of looking for a yes or no.
Alex Sommer
0:59:32
Yeah.
0:59:33
I want to note that fully fund, we don't know yet what the extent of those improvements could be so I don't want to commit to fully fund.
0:59:44
But part of the agreement at the end of this process will be to identify how much money can be allocated to improvements, not just the study but implementation.
0:59:53
But I don't want to yet say fully fund because we don't know East West, North south and all of the
Crystal Hudson
0:59:57
other That was a decent answer.
Alex Sommer
1:00:02
Sorry.
Crystal Hudson
1:00:02
I'll take it.
1:00:02
It's okay.
1:00:03
It's okay.
1:00:04
You're doing your job and I'm doing mine.
1:00:06
So we're meeting somewhere in the middle.
1:00:10
What would a timeline for a redesign look like?
1:00:12
And are we able to commit to a timeline?
Alex Sommer
1:00:15
Pass it over to Dash as well.
Dash Henley
1:00:19
That depends on a few factors.
1:00:21
Think depending on the timing of the funding of the study itself, the study would probably be about eighteen months, looking at, you know, the trafficking in the corridor potential, you know, everything that's going on there, taking into account community needs, the nature of Atlantic Avenue as a truck route, you know, all of those issues at Long Island Railroad underneath their infrastructure, you know, taking into account all of that.
1:00:47
You know, that would follow by design and transferring it over to DDC and construction.
1:00:54
So the timeline is and we can figure out more details over the coming weeks, but it could be anywhere from seven to ten years for it to be the fully
Crystal Hudson
1:01:06
funded Okay, you went from eighteen months to seven to ten years?
Dash Henley
1:01:09
The eighteen months would be the track record.
Crystal Hudson
1:01:11
The study.
Dash Henley
1:01:11
Yeah.
Crystal Hudson
1:01:14
Okay.
1:01:14
Seven to ten years is like a bit ridiculous.
1:01:18
I mean Yeah, like is there any way to expedite that?
1:01:26
Is that a standard timeline for a redesign of this scope?
1:01:31
Let me start there.
Dash Henley
1:01:31
It depends on the nature of the scope because we don't really have a fully agreed upon geographic area or anything like that.
1:01:40
So it depends anywhere between six and ten years for a large scale capital
Crystal Hudson
1:01:44
just to be clear, that is standard?
1:01:48
Six to ten years for a large scale capital project.
Dash Henley
1:01:51
But I will say that it's just one of the components that we're looking at as part of commitments to this rezoning.
1:01:58
We're looking at improvements, like we had discussed separately, for short term projects that we can do with existing resources that wouldn't require capital dollars.
1:02:10
So the traffic study would inform those projects, but we're looking at advancing projects sooner, such as Underhill and Lowry Plaza, which is already in the works with construction expected to be in 2027.
1:02:23
We're also looking at options that we can do to improve Burgund, Dean, some of the streets South Of Atlantic on a quicker timeline.
1:02:34
So our general thinking is that we'll have a series of projects, both in house and capital, that will be staggered over the next decade.