Video: What It’s Like to Walk Across the Prospect Park West Bike Lane

One of the arguments we’ve been hearing from opponents of the Prospect Park West bike lane is that the redesign makes it difficult to see bike traffic as you cross from the west side of the street to the park side. So, how hard is it to get a clear view of the two-way bike path? See for yourself.

Doug Gordon at Brooklyn Spoke posted these videos of the pedestrian crossing at Carroll Street. From the zone between the traffic lanes and the bike lane, you have a clear view of approaching cyclists for several blocks. As long as illegally parked cars don’t encroach on the pedestrian zone, it’s hard not to see approaching cyclists. And keep in mind that NYPD reported zero pedestrian injuries caused by drivers or cyclists in the six months after the bike lane was installed.

DOT’s current proposal, which the Community Board 6 transportation committee will be voting on tomorrow, would prevent cars from obstructing sightlines from the pedestrian zone by building raised concrete refuges that drivers can’t mount. (If you didn’t get a chance to weigh in on this last week, you can send your thoughts to CB 6 today.)

Here’s the view from the pedestrian area when cyclists are approaching…

It can be hard to remember what Prospect Park West was like before the bike lane, so here’s a refresher. Opponents want to go back to the days when PPW had three lanes of traffic and the street looked like this: