Whose Bright Idea Was This? Brooklyn Road Left Unpainted By NYC Leads To Traffic Lining Up Behind Parked Cars
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Traffic is already a headache for many drivers in our area, but imagine waiting at a light behind a line of empty cars.
After finding a traffic mess where cars are parked in the middle of an unmarked street, CBS2's Valerie Castro is asking – whose bright idea was this?
"I guess we have the vantage point to see the whole scenario from up in the building so it seems pretty funny," Ian Smith, a worker in Williamsburg said.
It may look funny to those watching from afar, but drivers aren't laughing at this traffic trouble spot in Brooklyn.
"I thought it was moving traffic," driver Peter Parris said.
The stretch of South 5th Street along the Williamsburg Bridge was recently repaved.
It appears as though a bike lane and parking lane will eventually be marked on the roadway, but until then, drivers are mistaking the middle of the road "parking lane" for traffic waiting at a light.
Few have realized it's a row of empty cars.
"Really I've been here honking and we can't go," Parris added.
CBS2 filled the driver in after he sat there for almost two minutes.
"They spray painted on the ground. It says 'parking lane' but you didn't see that right?" Castro asked.
"I didn't see any signs so we were totally unaware," Parris added.
"I don't think it's really clear that one lane is for parking and one lane is for bikes," Smith told CBS2.
"I think they just think they're getting on the bridge so cars will pile up clear around the corner."
CBS2 cameras saw two more cars line up. When Valerie Castro tried to let one driver know what was going on, he drove off seemingly angry at the waste of time.
Smith says he hopes the problem is sorted out soon, for both drivers and cyclists.
"I see a lot of times people panic and they turn right and they drive up this in the bike lane, which I'm sure is really dangerous," Smith said.
CBS2 reached out to Department of Transportation who would only say they're looking in to it.
The DOT does have parking arrangement signs in place that describe what the project is, but they're small and difficult to see if you're behind the wheel – especially at night.
