Brooklyn Officials to Discuss Possible Parking Meters on Wallabout Street as 2026 Crash Records Show Safety Concerns Nearby

By Williamsburg 365 Staff

Brooklyn Community Board 1 will discuss whether the city should study adding parking meters on Wallabout Street between Bedford Avenue and Lee Avenue. The discussion is scheduled for November 17.

The item on the Transportation Committee’s agenda asks the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to look at whether metered parking could help reduce traffic congestion along the street.

No parking meters have been approved. The city is being asked to study the idea.

Traffic accidents have also raised concerns in the area. Wallabout Street had 24 reported crashes between January 1 and October 27, 2026. Fifteen people were injured, including one child. No fatalities were recorded on Wallabout Street during that period.

One of the crashes occurred on August 10 near the intersection of Throop Avenue and Wallabout Street. Four people were injured in a collision involving a utility vehicle and a delivery truck.

A separate fatal crash happened nearby on May 1. Nine-year-old Joel Jacobowitz was struck and killed by a school bus at Lee Avenue and Lorimer Street. The bus was making a left turn from Lee Avenue onto Lorimer Street when the boy was hit. Police records listed failure to yield as a contributing factor.

There were four crashes at the Lee Avenue and Lorimer Street intersection during the 2026 reporting period, including the fatal crash.

After the boy’s death, the city repainted crosswalk markings and assigned NYPD traffic officers to the area.

The numbers show that traffic safety is a real issue in this part of Brooklyn, not just a question of finding a parking space.

The population is also worth looking at when discussing traffic and parking. Brooklyn had an estimated 2,653,963 residents as of July 2025, according to Census Bureau figures published in the city’s March 2026 report. A separate 2026 population figure for South Williamsburg or the blocks around Wallabout Street is not available.

Traffic records do, however, offer a snapshot of how busy the corridor can get. State roadway inventory data for the nearby stretch of Wallabout Street between Marcy and Bedford avenues estimates an Annual Average Daily Traffic volume of 1,810 vehicles per day. Commercial trucks account for about 5.64 percent of that traffic—roughly 100 trucks each day—reflecting steady local deliveries and commercial activity.

A separate city environmental review also measured traffic on Wallabout Street just east of Marcy Avenue, recording 175 vehicles during the weekday evening rush hour and 55 vehicles during the Saturday midday peak.

According to a DOT corridor study, Wallabout Street is 36 feet wide between Bedford and Lee avenues, with one travel lane in each direction and parking along both curbs. On a street of that width, double-parked delivery trucks can quickly bottleneck traffic.

For residents and business owners, any parking changes could have an effect on daily life. Residents rely on street parking, while local stores depend on customers and delivery vehicles. Parking meters could make spaces available more often, but they would also mean drivers have to pay.

The Transportation Committee meeting will take place Tuesday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m. at 176 Java Street in Brooklyn.

The committee will also review a revised DOT plan for Commercial Street. Michael Pedron from the Department of Transportation is listed as the presenter.

The meeting is open to the public. For now, the city has not approved any parking meters for Wallabout Street. The November 17 discussion is about whether DOT should take a closer look at the proposal.