Members of Community Board 10 and other community leaders will review a traffic study undertaken by the engineer working for the developer on the Target project in Ferry Point.
Leasing for the as yet-to-be-built Throggs Neck Shopping Center has already begun, with plans calling for a new Target and an additional 130,000 square feet of retail space, according to a Ripco realty listing. The site should also be including 650 free surface parking spaces, 250 covered parking spaces, and is scheduled to be opened in Spring 2013, the listing stated.
Simone Development, which is working with Target in constructing the Throggs Neck Shopping Center off Lafayette and Brush avenues and the Hutchinson River Parkway service road, commissioned the study, said Simone Development president and chief operating officer Joseph Kelleher. There have already been several meetings between CB 10 and Simone, with the community sharing its concerns regarding the traffic situation in Ferry Point.
“There are issues with traffic that everyone, including ourselves, would like to see resolved,” Kelleher stated. “We have had our engineer study this situation formerly and we have shared his recommendations with Community Board 10.”
It is important to remember that heavy traffic conditions in the Ferry Point area already exist, Kelleher stated.
“We want to understand this traffic situation ourselves,” Kelleher stated. “It was interesting to sit with the community board to see what their concerns are in the area. We hope to have future discussions with the community board and create a plan of action.”
The traffic recommendations in the study include the widening of Brush Avenue, the creation of a spur leading from the Hutchinson River Parkway onto I-95 near the future home of the Throggs Neck Shopping Center, and the addition of lanes on an exit 7B off I-95, said CB 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns.
“The full board hasn’t had the opportunity to digest it, and the committee will look at it and then make a recommendation, and then the full board will vote,” Kearns said.
In addition to studying the report, CB 10 will meet with elected officials to see what they think of proposals put forth in the study, Kearns said.
The current traffic situation in Ferry Point is “horrendous,” with some residents unable to get out of the community because of truck traffic from businesses near the community’s residential homes, said Ferry Point Civic Association president JoAnn Sohmers.
The community has received a plethora of new commercial developments, including a Pepsi bottling plant and Home Depot, and now the Throggs Neck Shopping Center, said Dotti Poggi, president of the Ferry Point Community Advocates. However parts of Brush Avenue were not constructed for heavy commercial traffic, and much of the infrastructure of streets in Ferry Point are badly in need of upgrades and modernization, Poggi stated.
Senator Jeff Klein’s office is currently reviewing the findings of the study.
“Traffic at Ferry Point is already at a standstill during rush hour,” Klein said. “With another large retail store coming into the community, it’s even more important that we do everything in our power to fix what for many has become a frustrating ride to and from work. I look forward to reviewing this report and working with my colleagues in government and on the community board to find the best solution to this problem.”
Patrick Rocchio can be reach via e-mail at procchio@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3393
