Pedestrians, Cyclists Demand a Safer GAP
Park Slope Courier
By Gary Buiso

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It's been crowned one of the most hazardous intersections in the city, and those living near Grand Army Plaza--or just visiting the area--are tired of the distinction.

Last weekend, Transportation Alternatives (TA), a pedestrian and cyclist advocacy group, and the Prospect Heights Parents Association gathered outside the borough's central library to call upon the city to make the intersection safer. 

"Someone has to do something about this," said parent Mike Dowd, the founder of the parents association. 

He said it is near-impossible to cross the intersection with his two small children. Inevitably, the trio find themselves in a familiar predicament, "stuck out there on an island." Dowd said 1,200 "angry" signatures were gathered in just five hours, a testament to the borough's growing frustration with the intersection.

Those crossing the street must contend with cars coming from Eastern Parkway, Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Park and Vanderbilt Avenue. For even the most seasoned pedestrian, the task of crossing this intersection can be a daunting one. 

"There is definitely an outpouring of dissatisfaction," Dowd said, adding that the newly formed parents association approached TA to help get the message out.

"Grand Army Plaza is designed to maximize the traffic flow--of cars," said Jeff Prant, a TA volunteer who helped gather signatures: 

"The way Grand Army Plaza is now is the culmination of 50 years of city planning that puts the automobile first and the pedestrian second. We think that ought to change," Prant said. 

"Walking is what makes this a great city," he added.

Prant said advocates are calling on the city to increase pedestrian crossing times and make center medians safer, perhaps by installing metal barriers surrounding the medians. 

Apparently, the city is listening. 

Tom Cocola, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said the agency agrees that change must come to the intersection. 

He said the DOT is looking at ways to "lengthen pedestrian timer" so that crossing the street does not have to be a mad dash. 

Cocola said the goal is to make the area more "pedestrian friendly." One measure will be to expand the traffic island near the library, making it concrete, and hopefully, "reducing some of the conflicts there," Cocola said. 

He said the agency is looking to lengthen pedestrian crossing times (to the center median) on Flatbush Avenue as well as on Eastern Parkway. 

Currently, pedestrians have 26-41 seconds on Flatbush Avenue to land on the center median, and 54-79 seconds to do so on Eastern Parkway, Cocola said, noting, "It is indeed difficult." 

"Part of the problem is that people want to do it (cross the avenue) in one fell swoop," Cocola said. "If you don't time the area properly, you might get caught," he said.

The DOT is planning other changes as well. "We're looking to provide a pedestrian movement across southbound Vanderbilt Avenue, and during the Flatbush Avenue southbound movement, try to provide pedestrian crossing on Flatbush Avenue north and across the northbound movement of Grand Army Plaza," Cocola said. 

The changes are expected to be in place by the end of the summer, Cocola said.

Cocola said his agency has been trying to make the plaza safer since 1999, when it was ranked the city's most dangerous intersection. That year, a startling 289 accidents were reported. "The last time I checked, we were in the high 180's," Cocola said of the current accident figure. "That's better than [289] but still 180 more than we want" he said.