City planners will reverse the direction of Duffield Street so out-of-towners can better access a group of fancy hotels near Fulton Mall.
Starting next Saturday, the one-way artery will flow southbound between Willoughby and Fulton streets, spiriting traffic towards Flatbush Avenue, the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway and, perhaps, to the two city airports.
“We realized it was difficult for black cars and cabs to find the hotels because traffic flow is convoluted,” said Michael Burke, director of planning for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, which proposed the change. “This will help the whole area.”
Duffield Street will soon be home to four posh hotels, including Loft 31, which is scheduled to open next to the Sheraton Hotel in March. A V3 hotel is also under construction on the block.
The one-way switch will also help get cars into a underground parking lot that will be built as part of the Willoughby Square Park — a greenspace that city planners believe will be Brooklyn’s Bryant Park.
As part of this larger reimagining of Downtown, Willoughby Street will also be converted from a two-way artery into a one-way westbound street between Gold and Duffield streets. Signs will soon go up to remind drivers.
