Despite approval from the local Community Board, the DOT has not moved forward with plans to install a two-way, parking-protected bike lane on the east side of Prospect Park West in Park Slope. The DOT had planned to begin work on the bike lane last September, and would have cut one lane of car traffic from the one-way, three lane road between Grand Army Plaza and 15th Street, moving a lane of parked cars off the curb, and installing a bike lane where the parked cars used to be. But it appears the plans were quietly put on the back burner because of opposition from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
The Brooklyn Paper has learned that the DOT walked back the project after receiving a letter from Markowitz calling the Prospect Park West lane an "ill-advised proposal that would cause incredible congestion and reduce the number of available parking spaces in Park Slope." Of course, there's no proof that the DOT buckled strictly because of Marty (the community board wanted changes to the DOT's plans, namely traffic lights for bicyclists). But as Streetsblog points out, the Borough President's parking panic is rather irrational, because the proposed bike lane would cause the elimination of just "two spaces at each signalized intersection."
