West Side Drive in Prospect Park is now car-free. It's part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero campaign aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities.
The city conducted traffic studies and found during the afternoon commute, at its peak, the West Drive had 230 cars an hour. A number that would not cause traffic jams if re-routed.
But on the East Side there were 420 cars an hour, which the city found could create unsafe conditions outside of the park.
"We determined it gave us concerns about pedestrian safety, the movement of buses and congestion," city Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said at a news conference. She added that as the city has regularly closed the entrances to Prospect Park and Central Park, "Car traffic has continued to go down. So we've done it in stages and we may be back again for the final phase at some point in the coming years."
At the entrance to the park at Grand Army Plaza, personal trainer Diango Cissi was setting up for his morning clients. He said he's seen a hit and run in the park, so for him, getting cars out of Prospect Park is Mayor Bill de Blasio's signature achievement. "It's the best the mayor's done so far," he said.
But now that cars are out, park-goers are looking for the city to crack down on errant cyclists.
Strolling through the park Monday morning, June Taylor, 66, said bikers are a bigger problem for her than traffic. "I've probably almost been run over by a cyclists more than I have a car since we lived here," Taylor said.
Mimi Middleton cycles in the park everyday and said she's pleased that cars will be out of the West Side of the park. The 42-year-old admits cyclists can be dangerous and that she sometimes runs red lights.
"I'm not perfect," she shrugged. But said she does her best to be a responsible citizen. "I try to let the pedestrian go by."
The Department of Transportation has no plans to address issues of speeding cyclists in Prospect Park.
