The intersection of Eastern Parkway and Washington Avenue is one of the busiest—and messiest—in Brooklyn. A capital project to reconfigure the intersection and renovate the Eastern Parkway median between Washington and Grand Army Plaza has been in the works for five years, and will finally be breaking ground July 5, 2010.

The groundbreaking will be the beginning of an 18-month, three-phase project that will include water and sewer main upgrades and work on the main Eastern Parkway before the median and the pedestrian crossings at Washington are addressed.

Neighbors on Eastern Parkway are understandably not content to let the dangerous situation persist for two more years. Specifically, pedestrians crossing Washington between 175 and 201 Eastern Parkway must contend with traffic turning north onto Washington and accelerating well before it reaches the crosswalk. They have called on NYC DOT to take immediate action to improve safety on an interim basis while waiting for the renovation to complete. The Eastern Parkway residents have launched an online survey for community members to use to voice their concerns, available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KZN6V32.