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DOT unveils new safety plan for busy Brooklyn Heights intersection

The Department of Transportation will transform the Jay and Sands streets intersection.

Aurora Fowlkes

Jul 16, 2025, 10:12 AM

Updated 7 hr ago

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The Department of Transportation has developed an Intersection Safety Improvement Plan after months of growing concerns from the bicyclist's community over the busy intersection of Jay and Sands streets in Brooklyn Heights.
The Department of Transportation will transform the Jay and Sands streets intersection, building a sidewalk extension to provide additional space and ramps for bike path users, replacing existing shared ramps with new ramps dedicated to each crosswalk, and removing sections of iron fencing around the fire hydrant at the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge bike ramp.
Bicyclist's in the area like Peter Schmidt-Nowara say the changes are more than welcome to what he says is a "dangerous" intersection, noting that those traveling between Jay and Sands streets"got to be super cautious at [that] intersection specifically."
Others biking through the area like Malik Roberts aren't as hopeful that the coming changes will have a long-lasting impact in the area, saying that they may make "a slight difference," but he will remain cautious when crossing the intersection.
"[When] on a bike careful, you just have to be careful," Robert says. "And sometimes even being careful is not enough."
The Department of Transportation tells News 12 that the overall goal of the planned improvements will be to "improve visibility, reduce speeding, and create safer and shorter pedestrian crossings" for all.


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