This Week: Defend the Prospect Park West Bike Lane

12:57 PM EDT on October 18, 2010

It's an exceptionally busy week on the Streetsblog calendar. The action intensifies on Thursday morning, when supporters of safer Brooklyn streets will gather at Grand Army Plaza to defend the Prospect Park West bike lane from opponents who want to remove it and roll back the traffic-calmed PPW to its former three-lane speedway configuration. Turning out a big, friendly, neighborly crowd should have a big impact on the press coverage that is sure to ensue. To tell the organizers that you plan to attend, email rsvp [at] parkslopeneighbors [dot] org.

Plenty of other events would be headliners any other week:

Monday: Manhattan CB 7's Parks Committee discusses the mandatory dismount policy that was enacted in Riverside Park at 72nd and 67th Streets, impeding access to the Hudson River Greenway. 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday: The Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability hosts a "Community Conversation" for Lower Manhattan as part of the lead-up to next year's update of PlaNYC. Let the city know what's missing from its sustainability plan and what you think is working well. 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday: Jay Walder sits down with NYU's Rudin Center to talk about how he's balancing the agency's fiscal woes with the desire to improve service. 8:30 a.m.
Thursday: The Prospect Park West bike lane will be the subject of dueling rallies this morning. Print and TV media -- including CBS2's Marcia Kramer -- will be there with notepads in hand and cameras rolling. To show your support for safer streets, show up at Grand Army Plaza at 8:00 a.m. (and let the organizers know you're coming).
Also Thursday: Help the DOT develop the perfect route for the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway through Greenpoint and Williamsburg at a community workshop. 6:30 p.m.
Thursday and Friday: The Municipal Art Society hosts a two-day conference devoted to the concept of livability. Janette Sadik-Khan gives the first keynote. Begins at 9:00 a.m. each day.