There are approximately 12,000 residents living just north or south of Park Avenue between Navy and Steuben, as well as six schools, three parks, numerous retail and light-industrial businesses, and churches. Despite this residential profile, Park Avenue is dominated by four lanes of fast-moving traffic bracketing a 300+ space parking area. Speeding traffic has created environmental, travel and sanitation conditions that are unsafe for the many school children, seniors, bus riders and others residents that use the avenue daily. North-south crossings are difficult throughout the site, people are unable to cross during one traffic light cycle, and there is a high car accident rate (76th percentile!).

MARP collaborated with Architecture for Humanity NY to develop the Park Avenue Pedestrian Safety Plan, a set of proposals to improve pedestrian safety and calm vehicular traffic on Brooklyn’s Park Avenue between Navy and Steuben Streets, creating a safer neighborhood corridor for residents and visitors. Join us for a brief site tour on Monday, September 10th at 2pm, beginning on Park Avenue at St. Edwards Street to highlight site issues, discuss the proposals, and measure vehicle speeds along with Councilmember Letitia James, State Committee Member Lincoln Restler, Transportation Alternatives, and members of the project’s Advisory Committee.

This plan recommends interventions like adding crosswalks along the ‘superblock’ from Navy to North Portland, where there are no safe, controlled crossings for four blocks – an area that includes Commodore Barry Park, Ingersoll Houses, Navy Yard Houses and multiple schools. Many other recommendations are simple, but carefully tailored to remedy each block’s issues, like bumpouts to shorten pedestrian crossings, lighting, signage, and re-timed traffic lights to slow traffic.

Sign the petition!
We’ve communicated with various agencies throughout the process, but it is important that we continue to show broad-based support for making these improvements as soon as possible. Sign the online petition at www.ParkAvenueSafetyProject.org to continue to build community support for improving pedestrian safety on Park Avenue, and share the link with your neighbors!

The proposals were developed through information gathered at six public meetings, site surveys, and research, with guidance from Community Board 2 and an Advisory Committee made up of representatives from local block associations, tenants associations, residential developments, community-based organizations, city agencies and other stakeholders. Download the full report here.