Prospect Park

City testing out a totally car-free Prospect Park this summer

July 10, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The city is trying out a totally car-free Prospect Park starting next Monday. Photo courtesy of the NYC Department of Parks
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Joggers, cyclists and walkers rejoice: Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on Monday that Prospect Park will be entirely car-free for the first time this summer.  The park’s roads are currently open to northbound traffic during the morning rush-hour.

The car-free pilot program kicks off Monday, July 17 and lasts until Monday, September 11th, the weekend after Labor Day.

“As we already saw when we made the Prospect Park West Drive car-free two years ago, a safer and quieter park improves the safety and enjoyment for thousands of park users — and has a negligible effect on traffic outside the park,” de Blasio in a release.

DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said that cyclists, joggers and pedestrians will be able to “rejoice” in the safer park this summer. DOT is predicting a negligible impact on drivers.

According to DOT data, vehicle volumes on the East Drive are consistently lower during summer months. During a peak morning hour in the summer, fewer than 300 vehicles use the East Drive (a decline from over 400 hourly vehicles on a fall morning). During a peak morning hour, the drive is used by nearly 1,000 pedestrians, joggers and cyclists.

Borough President Eric Adams said that initiating this pilot had been a goal of his administration, community advocates, and local residents for a number of years.

“Parks are for people, and people from all across Brooklyn and beyond will enjoy a safer and more serene Prospect Park as a result of this initiative,” he said.

In 2015, Mayor de Blasio announced that the West Drive of Prospect Park would be permanently car-free. Since that time, DOT has received a number of requests from the community and local officials to expand car-free hours to all of Prospect Park, which during the summer sees increased recreational use, including by several children’s day camps.

DOT will evaluate the results of the pilot program after the summer before deciding whether to make the change permanent.

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