Brooklyn

As so often seems to be the case in outer borough community meetings, a good portion of last night's discussion centered around the question of automobile storage. While there were none of the histrionics of the 9th Street traffic calming meetings, some of the most intense concerns were expressed by people who use the 300-space Wollman Rink parking lot for visits to the park and for Q train park-and-rides. They want to make sure that a sufficiently large (and free) parking lot is designed into the new plan.

The transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 6, of which I'm a member, voted unanimously last night to approve DOT's traffic calming and bike lane plan for Park Slope's 9th Street. The approval came with requests that DOT build a bike lane along Prospect Park West, undertake a curbside management study aimed at alleviating double-parking and that the agency monitor the effects of the new street design over the next year. 

Konrad Kaletsch's street safety petition to DOT, July 2005.

The Brooklynian message boards are often the scene of fierce fighting over Brownstone Brooklyn's crowded sidewalk space. While Park Slope's legion of double-wide stroller-pushing moms and sidewalk-riding cyclists tend to generate the most ire, yesterday a new target emerged: Guys playing cards on the sidewalk.

Park Slope and Manhattan Valley have the largest numbers of bike commuters in NYC

First off, please accept my apologies for continuing to torture you with the intensely parochial drama taking place on Park Slope's 9th Street. I justify all of this coverage by imagining that this story may be useful for advocates working towards Livable Streets goals in other neighborhoods.

What a big weekend for public cycling events. This Sunday, more than 30,000 cyclists enjoyed perfect weather for the 30th anniversary of the Five Borough Bike Tour, a 42-mile traffic free ride through the city including a jaunt along the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn. It is the largest recreational cycling event in America.