...and why parts of Brooklyn are just terrible

from the Greensward Foundation

On one of the past few beautiful Sunday's, we made our way to Prospect Park. The walk from the Q train up Flatbush Avenue was pleasant enough, (though we did not even think about crossing the street as Flatbush was rather daunting, with its racing traffic, inconvenient crosswalks and multiple lanes of two way traffic) but when we got to Grand Army Plaza, "the grandest of park entryways in New York City's answer to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris," we became muddled and then very annoyed.

The park entrance is within sight - the most obvious thing is to walk directly through the roundabout where the Arch is. Yet that was impossible - there was no facilitation (crosswalks, pedestrian signals) to do so. To get to the park entrance, the crosswalks told us to walk all the way around the archway and cross five wide streets. The "grand" archway is not an entrance - it's an obstacle!

Whatever happened to Grand Army Plaza? Some old photographs show that it was always paved (initially with cobblestones?) and with cars on it too, but perhaps for much slower moving carriages. What has happened, it seems, is that this beautiful entrance has been totally given over to facilitating thru-traffic, without any consideration for other types of traffic - pedestrians and bikers, other than keeping them away from cars. Whoever made the decision didn't seem to notice the Brooklyn Public Library at the corner, or the Prospect Park's main entranceway, both of which don't allow cars inside. From what I remember, Paris' Arc de Triomphe was similarly addled. That's why you enjoy it from a distance.

I'm sure this issue been played out over and over again - and people living near Prospect Park learn to put up with it because the Park itself is so lovely, and well worth the trip. I know people not living in Manhattan drive more, and are underserved by public transit. Still, that's no reason to continue to give drivers complete right-of-way and not look out for bikers and pedestrians, especially at such critical pedestrian destinations.