Prospect Park Drive Will Be Repaved With New Walking, Bike Lanes

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — Prospect Park’s loop is getting a pedestrian-friendly makeover.

A repaving project this spring will not only lay down fresh asphalt on the eastern portion of Prospect Park Drive, but also test out a new lane arrangement that adds space for pedestrians and joggers, park officials announced Tuesday.

Repaving crews will begin the night of March 13 at Park Circle and work during the overnight hours for about five weeks up to Grand Army Plaza, according to the Prospect Park Alliance’s announcement.

Crews will also repaint the roadway to add a second pedestrian lane on the eastern loop’s outside. Officials will then conduct an 18-month pilot of this new arrangement with an eye to expand it to the entire loop.

“Prospect Park became such a popular haven in recent years, and so it was time we took a fresh look at making the wonderful loop drive even safer and more hospitable to pedestrians, joggers and cyclists,” said Ydanis Rodriguez, the city’s transportation commissioner, in a statement.

The project jumps off recommendations from a safety study focused on Prospect Park Drive, which was not redesigned after the drive was closed to outside vehicle traffic in 2018.

Other recommendations in the study — such as on e-bikes, modified crosswalk designs with high visibility paint or asphalt art, and modified crosswalk geometry — are up for feedback from the public, Prospect Park Alliance officials said.

People can review the proposed changes and provide feedback on them in this survey.

But one recommendation in the study will, at least temporarily, go forward: a redesigned roadway.

A second pedestrian lane on the drive’s far side will expand space for walkers and joggers, as well as prevent the need for crossings, the study found. It will also reduce conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists, who will share a new, expanded center lane with authorized vehicles, according to the study.

Repaving work will be done from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. officials said. They will mill sections of roadway for three nights and then pave it for two nights, “with the goal to ensure that fully paved roads are available to park users on weekends during the entire repaving process,” an announcement states.

Department of Transportation crews will repave nearly two miles of the 3.3-mile loop.