Traffic & Transit
Bike Lane On Its Way For Dangerous Street Below Prospect Park
Transportation officials will start installing the protected bike lane on Parkside Avenue this month, according to plans.
BROOKLYN, NY — A protected bike lane will soon be installed on one of the borough's most dangerous corridors for cyclists below Prospect Park, according to the Department of Transportation.
Transportation officials said Friday that they will begin installing a bike lane and other safety improvements to Parkside Avenue this month, finally bringing dedicated space for the more than 400 cyclists who use the street each day.
The installation comes a year after DOT first announced they would bring a bike lane to the street, which is in the top third most dangerous corridors in Brooklyn for cyclists.
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
It is one of several streets used for the city's Open Streets programs during the coronavirus crisis that will be getting a safety upgrade.
"The Parkside Ave Open Streets COVID response revealed strong demand for opportunities for safe biking and walking," DOT said in a presentation last year.
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The upgrades will include a two-way bike lane protected from traffic by a parking lane to the street between Park Circle and Ocean Avenue. The lane will be protected by a barrier as it approaches Ocean Avenue and will move off-road near the Park Circle intersection, according to the plans.
Officials will also upgrade pedestrian access to Prospect Park Peristyle and add pedestrian islands to St. Pauls and Parade Place, plans show.
The bike lane is one of several coming to the blocks below Prospect Park.
Transportation officials are also preparing to install a "bike boulevard" on 21st Street and bike lanes to 20th Street, 19th Street and a stretch of 10th Avenue, according to plans.
On Parkside Avenue, the changes aim to improve safety issues on the road. Between 2014 and 2018 there have been 157 crashes on Parkside Avenue, six where someone was severely injured, data shows.
A count on the road found that more than 424 cyclists used the road in 12 hours on a weekday, a number that spiked by another 30 cyclists on the weekend.
Here's a look at the plans for the street:
This month, NYC DOT will begin #BikeNYC safety improvements on Parkside Ave (Park Circle to Ocean Ave) in #Brooklyn. This work will: 🚴♂️Add protected bike lanes 🚶♂️Shorten pedestrian crossings 🚗Reduce speeding 🚘Maintain traffic capacity pic.twitter.com/sU0EkfsTvg
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) September 24, 2021
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