Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is taking a big step toward being enveloped by a network of protected bicycle lanes.
Construction on a two-way bike path along Ocean Avenue is slated to begin Friday, the city transportation department said.
The $15.5 million project will allow cyclists to travel between Parkside Avenue and Empire Boulevard without having to tangle with motorists. The project will also add a new pedestrian plaza dedicated to late U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm to Prospect Park's Parkside entrance, and will upgrade a building near Flatbush and Ocean avenues with new bathrooms.
Sidewalks will be widened and crossing distances will be shortened at some intersections, officials said, and workers will also install new pedestrian islands along the stretch.
Rosa Gonzalez, who lives near the park's Ocean Avenue side, said navigating between drivers and bicyclists is a challenge.
“Even to cross is bad. You could get hit sometimes. The bikes don't look at you — they just keep running,” she said.
She hoped a lane would help bring order to the road.
A rendering of the redesign planned for the corner of Parkside and Ocean avenues.
Other work to add more bike-friendly roads around Prospect Park is continuing. In 2020, the transportation department added a protected bike lane on Flatbush Avenue adjacent to the park. That followed a 2010 project that brought a two-way bike lane to Prospect Park West, which drew outrage from some local community members.
Motor vehicles were banned from the park in 2018.
The project is Mayor Zohran Mamdani's latest move to speed up the installation of new bike lanes across the city, many of which were sidelined under his predecessor Eric Adams.
“Families from across the city walk and bike to Brooklyn’s backyard, and with so much foot traffic, the park's adjacent streets must be calm and focused on people,” Transportation Commissioner Michael Flynn wrote in a statement.
The transportation department expects to finish the work in fall 2027 –—around the same time that the parks department says it’ll be done with a separate overhaul to the Vale of Cashmere in Prospect Park's northeast corner.
City transportation officials also say they’re finalizing plans to redesign traffic patterns at Grand Army Plaza on the park's northern end. The transportation department plans a new round of public outreach for this spring.
