The Issue
The intersections of Dorchester & Marlborough Roads and Dorchester & Westminster Roads in Ditmas Park/Flatbush, Brooklyn remain hazardous for everyone who crosses them. We are calling on NYC DOT to take immediate, evidence-based action to fix these intersections.

Despite sustained community advocacy and documented safety risks, DOT has repeatedly delayed or denied essential traffic-calming measures. Most recently, the agency rejected a stop sign at Marlborough Road based on a February 2024 traffic study (conducted while NYC public schools were closed and traffic was lighter).

The risks are real:
•No stop signs make it unsafe for both pedestrians and drivers.
•Limited visibility forces pedestrians and northbound vehicles on Marlborough to inch into the intersection to see oncoming traffic.
•Illegally parked cars in No Standing Zones further block sightlines.
•DOT’s own data shows average speeds of 38 MPH in a 25 MPH zone along Dorchester, a major residential corridor.
•These crossings serve a dense, community-centered area just one block from the subway and surrounded by houses of worship, schools, laundromats, grocery stores, and childcare centers. The house of worship at the corner functions as a cooling center and serves lunch to over 100 seniors daily. Hundreds of children walk, bike, or take the bus past these intersections each day to three public schools, four UPK centers, two U3K centers, and more than ten daycares.

 
What We Know: The Evidence
DOT requires evidence of five reportable crashes within a 12-month period before installing stop signs. Our neighborhood has already documented at least five in just ten months:

•9/02/2023 – 1 injury, report filed (#4659529)
•10/27/2023 – NYPD report filed (#4675175)
•11/05/2023 – NYPD report filed (#4676519)
•4/24/2024 – 1 serious injury, report filed (#4720709)
•8/03/2024 – 2-vehicle collision, NYPD report requested

How many more crashes must occur at this intersection before DOT takes meaningful action?

 
Our Demands
We call on NYC DOT to:

•Install all-way stop signs at Dorchester & Marlborough and Dorchester & Westminster.
•Physically enforce No Standing Zones with planters, barriers, or curb extensions to restore visibility. (The Ditmas Park West Neighborhood Association and Flatbush Development Corporation have pledged to finance and maintain planters, as seen on Newkirk Avenue.)
•Follow through on bike lanes and lane markings that DOT committed to in 2023 for summer 2024, yet remain unimplemented.
•Conduct traffic studies when school is in session so pedestrian counts reflect real-world use.
 
What You Can Do
Visit FixDorchester.com to submit a DOT complaint in under two minutes.

•Each submission goes directly to NYC DOT. The more individual requests received, the harder it becomes for the agency to ignore our community. This is the fastest and most effective way to sustain pressure for real safety improvements.

 
Why It Matters
Dorchester Road connects families, schools, and local businesses, and it should not be a place of risk.
Sign the petition, file a DOT request, and help make Dorchester Road safe for everyone who calls this community home.