New Crosswalks By The Parade Ground

I could never understand why the Parade Ground entrance facing Prospect Park had no crosswalk. The sports fields stretch over 40 acres, offering everything from soccer to basketball to baseball to tennis courts, serving tens of thousands of residents.

Of course, there is no gate to the park there either, but for decades, locals of all ages and backgrounds have made the mad dash across Parkside Avenue and navigated the hole in the fence, making the steep climb connecting the two.

When the city put the protected bike lane along Parkside Avenue, that mad dash became even crazier as, in addition to cars, one had to watch out for cyclists, not that there were many – the lane was also inaccessible to them. But all that is getting fixed with some concrete and paint.

The city's Department of Transportation has begun to create a crosswalk with a signal and a concrete pedestrian island connecting the park with the Parade Ground between Argyle and Rugby Roads.

The crossings at Caton Ave and Argyle Road, and Parade Place and Crooke Avenue will also be improved, and there are plans to formalize sharing the Parade Ground walkways with bicycles as well.

The Department of Transportation presented more detailed plans of what they'd like to see happen in the area to Community Board 14 this summer (there are more details here) but you can see the big picture below:

Now, if only the parks department could create an entrance ...