Prospect Perks: Activists Want City to Improve Cycling In and Around Brooklyn’s Green Heart

Only connect.

Street safety and sustainable transport activists in Brooklyn want protected bike lanes to connect cyclists to Prospect Park from all of the nearby Central Brooklyn communities, where car ownership is low and residents have among the least park access in the city.

“Central Brooklyn’s mobility and park access is at an impasse!” Transportation Alternatives wrote in an online petition to support a comprehensive plan, dubbed Prospect Park Connections. “Better connecting these neighborhoods to Prospect Park is a strong first step to correcting this inequity.”

The group is seeking many improvements that have been on activists’ Christmas lists since the Prospect Park West bike lane was built a generation ago. First and foremost are similar two-way protected bike lanes on Prospect Park Southwest and Ocean Avenue so that there is a complete ring of safety around the park (now that Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Ocean Avenue has a bike lane).

The city missed a huge opportunity to add a protected bike lane on Prospect Park Southwest when it repaved the wide roadway in 2022, as Streetsblog mentioned at the time:

Four cyclists have been injured so far this year on Prospect Park Southwest, according to the NYPD. And three others were injured on Ocean Avenue, the same stats show.

In addition to the marquee protected bike lanes, the petition seeks:

• Adding signalized crossings, mid-block crossings and pedestrian safety treatments at 10th and 11th avenues along Prospect Park Southwest
• Redesigning Bartel-Pritchard Square — where Prospect Park West hits 15th Street and Prospect Park Southwest — to fix the main cycling issue, namely no connection from Prospect Park West anywhere else.
• Upgrading painted lanes to Prospect Park to barrier-protected bicycle lanes on:
  • Bergen Street
  • Dean Street
  • Berkeley Place
  • Lincoln Place
  • Second Street
  • Third Street
  • 14th Street
  • 15th Street
  • 10th Avenue
  • 11th Avenue
  • Ocean Avenue south of Parkside Ave/Prospect Park
  • Lincoln Road
  • Maple Street
  • Empire Boulevard
• Adding protected bike lanes on key roads that currently lack any bicycle infrastructure:
  • Coney Island Avenue
  • Prospect Park West between Bartel Pritchard Square and the 20th Street Bike Boulevard
• Adding loading zones near the Lincoln Road entrance to Prospect Park so vehicles do not create hazards when loading in and out for commitments in the park.

Another big ask — creating additional pedestrian space at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park and other design improvements that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists on Underhill and Vanderbilt avenues — are in the works, albeit slowly.

“Together, these changes will dramatically improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike,” the petition reads. “New Yorkers should be able to safely ride through any area in Central Brooklyn.”

The Department of Transportation did not respond to a request for comment.