Barclays Center Reduces Noise, Doesn’t Cause As Much Traffic As Predicted
Image: Wikipedia
Living above and beside noisy bars can be pretty frustrating, but how does that compare to living near an 18,000-capacity concert arena?
Apparently, the music emitting from the Barclays Center, specifically the bass-driven sounds of rap concerts, got to be too much for nearby residents and the arena was slapped with a $3200 fine as a result. Now, The Daily News is reporting that the Barclay Center administration has gone the extra mile and recently hired a “sound concierge” to install 1800 acoustic baffles on the stadium’s ceiling, which should prevent further noise-related disturbances.
But what about the dreaded traffic jams?
Today, the Department of Transportation announced the results of a study which found that the impact of Barclays Center on surrounding traffic is not nearly as bad as residents originally feared it would be. According to Atlantic Yard Report, the Center’s connection to broad swaths of the public transit system has been a major factor in easing traffic problems. In most cases, less than half of the intersections surrounding the arena actually experienced traffic jams.
But it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies: the study also found that problems tend to creep up when large groups of people, especially families, come by car for certain concerts and family events (i.e. the recent string of Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey shows) and when arena employees arrive in the afternoon for early events.
When either of these events occur, the most adversely affected area is the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Dean Street, which connects to Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Flatbush. The DOT failed to offer a long term solution to the problem, but a representative says that a short term solution like “signal timing adjustments” may help.
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