Prospect Park's Drives Reopened to Cars

As of Thursday morning, cars are now allowed back into Prospect Park during rush hour.

Prospect Park's drives have been closed to cars since Superstorm Sandy hit in order to allow the park to use them as a staging area.

Cars are allowed in Prospect Park during rush hour, from 7-9 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. on weekdays.

The announcement appeared on the Prospect Park Alliance's website Wednesday.

Whether cars should be allowed in the park has long been an issue of contention. While some runners, bicyclists and other park users saying they are a health and safty hazard that don't belong in parks, some residents living around the parks, and drivers say the drives are needed to ease rush-hour traffic.

When Prospect Heights Patch polled readers in March, 87 percent said cars should be banned at all times.

In 2011, the City Council considered a bill banning cars from Prospect Park and Central Parks, but it was opposed by many area polls, and never reached a vote.