The Ikea bus-aster at Borough Hall and in Park Slope has been resolved.
Earlier this summer, residents of Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens and the Slope were enraged that Ikea shuttle buses were idling and blowing diesel exhaust into the air at their loading and unloading zones in those neighborhoods. The buses show up every 15 minutes from 10 am to 10 pm on Joralemon Street near Court Street and at the intersections of Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue and Smith Street.
Last week, officials with the big box superstore met with Community Boards 2 and 6 and announced that they had fixed the problem by hiring more dispatchers to regulate bus schedules.
Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth added that the mega-retailer is also doing its own monitoring.
And it’s working, community leaders said.
“It seems, for the most part, we have resolved our issue at Borough Hall,” said Community Board 2 District Manager Rob Perris, who was among the first to demand that Ikea fix the idling problem.
Residents near the Park Slope and Gowanus locations said they were concerned about traffic congestion and were confused about where exactly the buses stopped — but traffic there has also calmed, a visit revealed.
“They can’t do much better than that,” said Boerum Hill resident Bill Harris.
A public meeting will be held this fall to discuss any remaining issues with the store’s transportation offerings, said Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman.
