No More Left Turns Onto Concord From Manhattan Bridge (Except at Rush Hour)

Pictured: The intersection of Concord Street and the Manhattan Bridge. Image via Google Maps

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Beginning in April, vehicles exiting the Manhattan Bridge will only be able to turn left onto Concord Street between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a return to the original rules governing the intersection Monday, after the department began allowing 24/7 left turns onto Concord last October.

DOT spokeswoman Jaclyn Jablkowski said Monday that the decision was made “after listening to community input and evaluating for feasibility purposes.”

The spokeswoman said crews will add “markings and flexible delineators to the area,” and may adjust traffic signals as well.

The agency did not provided a specific date for when the change will go into effect. 

After a couple months of bridge traffic turning left onto Concord around the clock, community members were raising serious concerns about pedestrian safety at the intersection. At its mid-December meeting, Community Board 2’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee officially reversed its prior approval of the new 24-hour turn lane, as reported by DNAinfo.

In January, nearby resident Juan Salazar told the website that the DOT wasn’t responding fast enough to locals' concerns. “It seems like the DOT’s next step is to wait until somebody gets killed until they really do something,” Salazar said.

In one especially extreme case, Brooklyn Paper relayed the story of a family that moved to New Jersey after a truck "barreling" off the bridge almost "mowed down" their kids. Via Brooklyn Paper:

“Since that frightening incident happened to us we have decided to move out of the area,” said former Downtown resident turned Garden Stater Leah Rosen, who used to live near Concord Street — the treacherous stretch in question — on Nassau Street and had to cross the thoroughfare several times a day.