The campaign to close Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to cars has not yielded any roadway closures this year, yet the effort moves forward with optimism.

Eugene Patron, Press Director for the Prospect Park Alliance, said that the steep rise in the park usage may suggest why the car-free park idea is receiving more attention.

The Trust for Public Land, the national nonprofit conservancy, listed Prospect Park as one of the most visited city parks in the U.S., with more than eight million visitors annually. This is four times the estimated two million visitors that used the park in the early 1980s. Additionally, bicycling in New York City has increased by seventy-five percent since 2000. More people in Prospect Park present greater possibilities for driver and non-driver conflicts.

Although advocates aimed to have the city initiate a trial closure of the park to automobiles this summer, sights are now set on this fall.

The car-free campaign is spearheaded by the nonprofit advocacy group, Transportation Alternatives. Its initiative is supported by countless park users and several city councilmembers, including Gale Brewer of District 6, who has frequently endorsed measures aimed at making the city more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

As part of its campaign, Transportation Alternatives has collected more than six hundred letters that petition Mayor Bloomberg to close the park to cars. The organization has also created a new youth division to study traffic patterns and park usage.

Supporters believe that a car-free park would prevent injuries, provide cleaner air, and restore the park to its intended role as an urban sanctuary. Following the death of Rachel Fruchter, a cyclist killed in the park by a speeding van in 1998, many advocates even see closing the park to cars as a life-saving measure.

Opponents believe that the closure would undoubtedly throw a wrench in traffic patterns and create gridlocks that would affect air quality in surrounding neighborhoods.

Both the Department of Transportation and Transportation Alternatives have conducted studies that estimate how traffic patterns would change during roadway restrictions or closures. The D.O.T.’s assessments have been cautionary about automobile roadway closures, indicating that they would lead to congestion.

Transportation Alternatives, however, is pushing for closing the park to cars for a trial period of about one to three months. A permanent closure would follow only if the trial closure does not create severe traffic problems.

Lindsey Lusher, Campaign Director for Transportation Alternatives, stated that “during a trial closure, we would expect that two things would be measured—traffic around the park and park use.”

“We expect many more families, runners, walkers, cyclists and equestrians will use the park, especially during hours when cars are now allowed in the park. Traffic around the park should also be measured to allay neighborhood concerns, but research suggests that impacts will be minimal,” she added.

Under the Bloomberg administration, the D.O.T. has become more amenable to solutions proposed by Transportation Alternatives. Last year, for instance, the D.O.T. decided to eliminate evening driving hours on the Prospect Park’s East Drive.

While there are fewer cars in comparison to cyclists and pedestrians because of existing restrictions, this does not place cars in the clear. “Because there are few cars in the park, drivers speed,” Ms. Lusher said. She pointed to a recent study by Transportation Alternatives’ youth division, which found that ninety percent of drivers were driving faster than the posted speed limit.

Promoting cycling and strengthening parks are both significant components of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 sustainability plan that was set in motion in 2007.

Last month, when asked about the possibility of a car-free Prospect Park, Mayor Bloomberg said that “it’s certainly something we should look at.”

Photos c/o: youthforcarfreeparks

Tags: Air Quality, Biking, Car-free, Car-Free Prospect Park, City Council, DOT, Eugene Patron, Gale A. Brewer, Lindsey Lusher, Michael Bloomberg, NY1, PlaNYC 2030, Prospect Park, Prospect Park Alliance, Prospect Park Youth Advocates, Rachel Fruchter, Transportation, Transportation Alternatives, Trust for Public Land

Category: Alternative Transportation, Community Action, Environmental Justice

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