OUTRAGE, a local group advocating to reduce community impacts of truck traffic in North Brooklyn, is organizing a survey to document truck traffic in Williamsburg and Greenpoint and needs volunteers.  OUTRAGE, which stands for Organizations United for Trash Reduction And Garbage Equity, conducted a similar truck study in 2004 and collected data used to push NYC towards a more equitable Solid Waste Management Plan for the city.   After years of stalling in Albany, the plan, which shifts waste transport from long-haul trucks to barges and rail, was able to move forward in June 2008.

Readers of MTR know that certain communities throughout the five boroughs, such as Williamsburg/Greenpoint, East Harlem, and the South Bronx, have been disproportionately affected by truck traffic and the air and noise pollution and safety concerns associated with it.  MTR recently reported on the efforts of NYCDOT’s Office of Freight Mobility to mitigate truck traffic, after Brooklyn’s Community Board 1 (which represents Williamsburg and Greenpoint) called attention to a lack of progress since the release of the city’s 2006 truck study.

The surveys will be held over the next two weeks and provide an opportunity for local activists and residents to get involved in improving their communities.  Additionally, there will be a community meeting tomorrow, October 20, from 7-8:30pm to discuss trucks in Williamsburg/Greenpoint and the upcoming surveys. For dates and times, and to contact OUTRAGE to participate in the survey, click here.  For additional information on the meeting, click here.

Image: TSTC file photo, 2004.