Have you ever tried to cross Park Avenue in Fort Greene or Clinton Hill? If so, you may have walked for blocks to find a safe crossing, or maybe you just decided to dodge speeding traffic. We’re sure you’ve though to yourself, ‘shouldn’t this street be safer for pedestrians?’ Well, we agree. It should be safer!

We’ve held three previous workshops about the area under and around the elevated BQE in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and safety was the primary concern at each of them. Have something to share about safety on Park Avenue? Join your neighbors at this workshop!

The goal of this workshop is to identify, prioritize, and locate specific enhancements that will improve pedestrian safety and calm vehicular traffic on Park Avenue between Navy Street and Steuben Street. Given the number of students that are crossing Park to and from school, and the number of residents that are living on Park or adjacent to it, we feel that improving safety should be prioritized by city agencies. This workshop is the first step in creating a community-based plan that we can use to advocate for important changes, both short-term and long-term. Architecture for Humanity will be assisting with workshop facilitation and development of the plan.

Hope you can make it!

Purpose of the Workshop
Identify, prioritize, and locate specific enhancements that will improve pedestrian safety and calm vehicular traffic on 15 blocks of Park Avenue, between Navy Street and Steuben Street.

History
Between spring 2009 and fall of 2010, the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) conducted three community workshops about improving the spaces under and around the BQE in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. After reviewing the results of these meetings, pedestrian safety on Park Avenue was determined to be a priority issue for community residents. Speeding cars, faded cross-walks, dangerous intersections, and an absence of traffic lights are some of the specific problems that the community identified.

November 3rd Workshop Format

• Introduction by MARP with remarks by local elected officials
• Explanation of various safety enhancements that could potentially be implemented, presented by Architecture for Humanity New York
• Small group (5-7 people) breakout sessions to determine priorities and design possible solutions. With help from a facilitator, community members will identify which safety improvements would work best at specific locations in each segment of Park Avenue.
• Reconvene to discuss next steps

After the Workshop

• In collaboration with Architecture for Humanity, MARP will organize the results of the workshop and create a draft plan to improve pedestrian safety on Park Avenue.
• MARP will present the draft plan to community stakeholders and finalize the plan.
• Working with community stakeholders, MARP will present the plan to responsible city agencies for consideration.