Transportation Alternatives (T.A.), NYC's 5000-member advocates for environmentally sensitive transportation, today applauded Councilmembers Fisher and Rodriguez's City Council-funded initiative to study the feasibility of replacing the elevated Gowanus Expressway with a tunnel, as well as their overall support for the proposed Gowanus tunnel.

In the early 1990s, New York State DOT announced plans to rebuild the Gowanus Expressway, perpetuating this Robert Moses-era urban blight, and diverting as many as 4000 cars an hour onto neighborhood streets. The Gowanus Expressway Community Coalition, of which T.A. is a member, was formed in response to the threat to the community's quality of life and health. The coalition has been working for eight years to ensure a full and fair review of a Gowanus tunnel option, and to guarantee that any modifications to the Gowanus corridor are environmentally responsible and respectful to the host communities.

Neel Scott, campaign coordinator for Transportation Alternatives, stated:

Transportation Alternatives thanks Councilmembers Fisher and Rodriguez for their continued strong support for the Gowanus tunnel option, and their defense of the community's quality of life. The reconstruction of the elevated Gowanus would flood the streets with tens of thousands of cars each day. It is sadly ironic that the State is considering spending billions of dollars to rebuild the Tappan Zee Bridge, while continuing to resist the Gowanus tunnel option.