Less than a month after News 12 first reported on plans to redesign a 1.3-mile stretch of Court Street with a bike lane, expanded curbs and pedestrian islands, work has begun, and Carroll Gardens residents say it is already causing issues.

On Tuesday, a large group gathered to protest the project, which includes reducing Court Street from two lanes down to just one.

Many people shared stories of emergency vehicles that were unable to get through, or traffic that built up behind a delivery truck, which had no choice but to park in the only available lane.

Even the local pastor, Msgr. Guy Massie, from St. Mary's Church, showed up, wondering, "How do I have a funeral? How do I have a wedding? You can't get in or out."

According to New York City data, Court Street has one of the highest totals of traffic deaths and serious injuries in all of Brooklyn, which is what led to the redesign.

"I don't think anyone here is against the bike lanes," said Mark Iacono, a longtime resident and the owner of the world-famous Lucali pizza restaurant. "It's just a lot of thought wasn't put into this."

Others, like Matt Mazzone, who owns Mazzone Hardware, lamented the process.

"Shame on them for not working with us to come up with a better solution," Mazzone said. "We could have sat together at the bar, on the back of a cocktail napkin, and come up with a better solution than this."

News 12 is told that the Department of Transportation did go door-to-door consulting with the businesses that line the street.

However, both Mazzone and Iacono say that nobody ever talked to them.

"(The redesign) is going to kill us. How are my customers supposed to stop and park and get to the store? How are deliveries going to get made? People are going avoid this area like the plague," Mazzone said.

The New York City Department of Transportation tells News 12 that it believes traffic will improve when the work is done, which includes painting the street, retiming the signals and adding loading zones - and that it is too soon to judge what they call "a half-finished design."

"I totally disagree with them," said Robert Jackson, a lifelong resident. "Maybe they should come out here and live what we live every day. It's only going to get worse long-term."

"Once they see the aftermath, hopefully they'll change it right away," added Iacono.

A source says the city does plan to keep an eye on the road and will adjust things if it is needed.