A protected bike path will soon wrap around the circumference of Park Circle. Some segments are bi-directional.

The DOT plan [PDF] got a thumbs up from Brooklyn CB 7 back in June. Here's a look at the wide open sea of asphalt Park Circle used to be, seen from Coney Island Avenue:

The best thing about the project is that motor vehicles are now channeled into a tighter space. Traffic is noticeably calmer -- the circle doesn't feel like an extension of nearby speedways anymore. Here's a tighter shot of that same angle today, zoomed in on a fairly huge new traffic island:

More pics after the jump.

A bi-directional approach to the Ocean Parkway Greenway -- much, much easier to use than the overpass you see in the background.

It's also much easier to cross Prospect Park Southwest where it meets the circle. Technically, there's separate space for pedestrians and cyclists at this crossing, but I think we'll see a lot of sharing here.

The exit from Prospect Park. Yes, that is a "multi-lane" bike path heading toward Park Circle.

Not pictured in this post: The terrible TD Bank building on the opposite side of Prospect Park Southwest from the park. Its curb-cutting driveways, parking lot, and drive-through window are a real blemish on this much-improved urban space.

L-r: Brad Lander, Dave Pechefsky, Gary Reilly, Josh Skaller, and Bob Zuckerman.

The race to succeed Bill de Blasio in the 39th District is crowded, with seven candidates participating in the debate (an eighth, Democrat John Heyer, was a no-show). After last night, it's clear that a strong livable streets candidate won't emerge from the Republican primary. GOP candidates Joe Nardiello and George Smith voiced support for bike infrastructure but neither could articulate a coherent strategy for curbing auto use and mitigating traffic. (Nardiello on congestion pricing: "Penalties are not the solution.")

The other five debaters -- Democrats Brad Lander, Gary Reilly, Josh Skaller, and Bob Zuckerman, and Green Party candidate Dave Pechefsky -- generally agreed that the city should reduce driving and foster walking, biking, and transit. How, and to what extent? I'll try to give a sense of their positions and ideas as concisely as possible.

Among this group, Zuckerman seemed the most gun-shy about getting people out of their cars. When asked to identify the district's most pressing transportation need, "I would use the word congestion," he said. His main strategy: Residential parking permits, proposing a borough-wide permit zone for on-street parking, with a $100 annual fee. As a hypothetical revenue-raiser, that's nothing to sneeze at. As a feasible proposition for busting congestion, I'm not so sure.

In general, RPP was a common proposal, while more effective and politically risky strategies to manage parking received fewer mentions. Lander and Reilly both lauded the DOT's PARK Smart pilot in Park Slope -- which charges higher rates for on-street spaces during peak hours -- and suggested ramping it up. Thankfully, no one from the Dem/Green contingent proposed building additional parking structures to ease congestion. (Skaller: "I do agree with the basic notion that if you create parking, more cars will come. So the solution must lie elsewhere.")

Reilly was the only candidate to identify the city's off-street parking requirements as a major cause of traffic and congestion. "We need to eliminate that archaic part of the zoning law that requires car parking," he said. Pechefsky picked up on a different aspect of the city's off-street parking boom. "Riding down Ninth Street is an invitation to get hit by someone driving to Lowe’s," he said, referring to the big box home improvement store that sits right by the Gowanus Canal. "We need another economic development model." 

The most full-throated endorsement of congestion pricing, meanwhile, came from Lander. "I want to encourage people to stick, long-term, with congestion pricing," he said, noting that RPP would not pack the same punch. "I think we need to be in the forefront of advocating for that to happen. If we want enough money to run transit, and cut congestion and the traffic that runs through our neighborhood, we need congestion pricing." Council members can push for that reform, he said, by helping to build the coalitions necessary to sway Albany legislators.

One of the more pronounced and interesting distinctions between the candidates arose when they were asked about making Prospect Park car-free, an idea that the departing de Blasio has endorsed. Pechefsky and Reilly fell squarely in the "do it now" camp. Lander, Skaller, and Zuckerman urged a gradualist approach, suggesting variations on a strategy of winning over skeptics in Windsor Terrace and Kensington, who fear that a car-free park would send more traffic through their streets. "I think that the perception and the reality are probably two different things," said Skaller. "I think it's a very attainable goal, to have a car-free park. But in order to get there, we need a full buy-in from all communities, and we need to show people that it will work for them."

The area of greatest unanimity was probably traffic enforcement. Several candidates concurred that the enforcement of traffic laws is woefully insufficient and pledged to work with the NYPD to make it a higher priority. Reilly took the additional step of recommending more red light cams, which must be approved by Albany.

As for bikes? Well, woe to the candidate who comes out with an anti-bike message at a TA debate. If these pols follow through on what they said last night, you don't have to worry about the 39th District producing a council member who'll rail against protected lanes and stand in the way of a more robust bike network.

One of the more intriguing races is shaping up in the 39th Council District, which includes parts of Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Kensington, and Borough Park. This is the seat being vacated by Bill de Blasio -- who opposed congestion pricing last year and came out in favor of bridge tolls late in the game during the MTA funding debate this spring. The district is heavily transit-dependent, mostly car-free [PDF], and situated in prime New York City "bike belt" territory. This election should put a strong, smart voice for progressive transportation policy in City Hall.

If you live in the 39th and care about green transportation and livable streets, you'll want to come out tomorrow night for the candidate debate Transportation Alternatives has put together. TA director Paul White will moderate the event, featuring the seven council candidates, who will discuss their views on "the bike network, congestion pricing, pedestrian safety, the MTA and livable streets issues of all stripes."

The more people attend, the more the candidates will appreciate that these issues matter to their potential constituents. Here are the details:

• When: Tuesday, August 18, 7:00 - 8:30pm
• Where: PS 321, 180 7th Avenue (between 1st and 2nd Street)
• Who: City Council candidates for District 39 (John Heyer, Brad Lander, Joe Nardiello, David Pechefsky, Gary Reilly, Josh Skaller, Bob Zuckerman)

Among other improvements, here's a breakdown of what's in store: 

• For pedestrians: new, direct and shorter crosswalks;
• For cyclists: Class 1 bike path around the circle; connection to the Ocean Parkway Greenway; Class 1 bike path on Ft. Hamilton Parkway;
• For equestrians: Protected bridle path within the circle;
• For motorists: Park through-traffic will be consolidated to one access point.
  

DOT further plans to revamp the Ocean/Ft. Hamilton Parkway ramp as a "city street," and to appropriate unused asphalt for new markings and plantings, reducing the size of the circle. The new design is intended to cut down on speeding and congestion.

According to Stable Brooklyn, Community Board 7 passed a resolution in support of the project on June 17. Work is scheduled to be implemented this fall.

Help determine what short-term safety, circulation and landscaping improvements should be implemented this fall by the Department of Transportation and Parks & Recreation. The proposals were developed in response to a lively and participatory community “brain storming” workshop and will be presented by NYCDOT.

Tonight's workshop kicks off at 6:00 p.m., at International Baptist Church (312 Coney Island Avenue, by the circle).

This proposal for Brooklyn's Park Circle -- Grand Army Plaza's twin traffic disaster at the opposite end of Prospect Park -- comes from Streetsblog Flickr pool contributor Sean Kenney. Currently, extraneous asphalt and accelerating vehicles abound here (check after the jump for a shot of existing conditions). Says Sean about his re-design:

With this concept, the intersections (and traffic lights) force motorists to negotiate standard, slow, 90-degree turns. The reclaimed street space for plazas or park space (the tan areas) can also host a separated bike lane for access to the park and greenways.

Like GAPCo's proposal for Grand Army Plaza, this design could revive a rarely used public space by connecting it to the park and making it more accessible to pedestrians. The Department of City Planning showed a similar concept for Park Circle at a meeting sponsored by Community Board 7 last month, presenting it as more of a far-off vision than a near-term possibility. (Read Sholom Brody's write-up on the Livable Streets Community site for a full recap.)

Based on the results of a DOT public workshop at that same meeting, safer pedestrian crossings around the perimeter of the circle could be in the offing later this year. While we're re-envisioning this space, I'd also like to see some enterprising developer raze that curb-cutting Commerce Bank at the corner of Prospect Park Southwest and replace it with a building that actually engages the sidewalk. Other suggestions?

What Park Circle looks like now.

The west side of Park Circle viewed from Coney Island Avenue.

The community input portion of the evening focused on the DOT project, culminating with an exercise in which small teams marked up maps of Park Circle with their ideas and reported back to the whole group. Participants were working from a blank slate -- DOT hasn't put forward any plans yet.

There was widespread agreement that traffic entering and exiting the circle moves dangerously fast, and that the west side, where cars rush to and from the nearby urban speedways, is crying out for at-grade pedestrian crossings and safer cycling conditions. I hesitate to read too much into the specific ideas that surfaced, which were all over the map, but several participants supported demarcating more pedestrian space, and a few advanced the notion of a protected bike path around the perimeter of the circle. One older woman I spoke to wasn't into bike lanes so much, but she thought that DOT really nailed the new Madison Square and wanted to see a similar treatment that "works for everybody" at Park Circle. Regrettably, woonerven did not come up.

DOT and DCP plan to use the results of the workshop to inform short-term improvements and longer-term plans for the area.