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The city has plans to reduce the car traffic in Prospect Park ^[4] drastically, but Brooklyn residents don’t think the proposed plan is quite enough. In a meeting last night ^[5], the Prospect Park Administration announced a plan to cut rush hour traffic from two lanes to one, giving pedestrians and bicyclists extra room. But a group called the Prospect Park Road Sharing Task force ^[6] is pushing for the city to completely ban car traffic, leaving the roadways free for pedestrian and cyclist morning commutes.

The Prospect Park Road Sharing Task force is made up of cops, Department of Transportation ^[7] workers, cyclists, and runners who want to make the roadways in the park more safe. The roads are only open to cars during morning and evening commutes, with the speed limit set at 25 mph. But data from the Park Slope Neighbors ^[8]group have shown that over 95 percent of the cars they’ve tracked have gone over the speed limit (and as frequent morning runners in the park, we can definitely vouch for this!).

The fast cars coupled with a disorganized, shared cyclist/pedestrian path has created an unsafe commuting path ^[9], recognized last year when a pedestrian was seriously injured by a cyclist speeding downhill. The proposed lane restructuring will give both bicyclists and walkers more room to travel freely, but many Brooklynites feel this will not completely solve the problem. The issue of speeding cyclists has been completely ignored, and many think more space will help eradicate this problem, keeping pedestrians out of harm’s way. Completely eliminating cars would give everyone more room to commute, and also keep emissions out of the picturesque park ^[10], making for an easier breathing commute.

Via NY Dailey News ^[11]

Lead Image © Kai Brinker ^[12] via Creative Commons