Feb 1, 2016 3 min read Announcements

Wanted: Your Input On Improving Access To Our Parks

park access I — Gateway to the Parade Grounds as viewed from the south side of Prospect Park. Some residents are saying that an entrance to the park should be constructed here, along with a crosswalk and stoplight. (Photo: Sarah Crean)

Do you think our community has enough access to high-quality open space?

One of the core goals of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s OneNYC plan is to have 85 percent of New Yorkers live within a walk to a park. Now the city is reaching out to New Yorkers to help make that goal a reality.

NYC Parks is asking for suggestions this month about how they can improve border areas of parks throughout the city.The idea is to make parks more open, welcoming, and beautiful by focusing on upgrading entrances, edges, and park-adjacent spaces. The city will then select – and fund – the best eight park proposals to showcase their Parks Without Borders program.

The mayor has dedicated $50 million to the initiative.

To participate, take a look at the city’s parks map, find the park you’re interested in and suggest ways to improve its entrances, edges, and park-adjacent spaces. Your suggestions will help the city choose sites and will influence the design of the projects they select.

Comments are being accepted until the end of February 2016. The city will announce the new projects this coming spring.

We’re already hearing from readers about possible ideas. One wrote to us about improving access to Prospect Park via the path that runs through the center of the Parade Grounds — “one of the main ways to get from our neighborhood to the Park.”

“Everyone should go to that map [on the Parks website] and suggest a new nice entrance to the park across from that path with a crosswalk and traffic light,” he wrote.

The same reader also suggested that more attention be given to the area at the intersection of Stratford Road and Caton Avenue where a roadway cuts through the Parade Grounds. The roadway is heavily trafficked by pedestrians and cyclists, and is also used for parking by the 74th Police Precinct and the Parks Department.

park access II — Roadway leading from the corner of Caton Avenue and Stratford Road to Prospect Park. The roadway is adjacent to the Parade Grounds and is used by both pedestrians, and Police and Parks department vehicles. The section of the roadway closest to Caton Avenue floods frequently. (Photo: Sarah Crean)

We agree that communities south of Prospect Park should have the best access possible to Prospect Park. We also encourage residents to think about the much smaller city-owned green spaces in our community — such as those off Foster Avenue and McDonald Avenue — and suggest ways that access to them can also be improved.

And on an even broader level, the lack of smaller parks and playgrounds in our area, especially as you head into Flatbush, is quite striking. Last August we covered the story of a young girl who was struck and killed by an SUV because she had no local playground to play in and was playing in the street.

While the city’s Parks Without Borders program is all about existing parks, the city is also trying to address the need for additional green space.

Care about our parks? Share your input with the city!