Work resuming in Brooklyn on Prospect Heights bike lane that was paused by mayor
City crews are expected to resume work Thursday on a Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, bike lane, months after Mayor Adams paused the project.
Construction of the bike lane and related traffic-calming measures along Underhill Ave. — a nine-block residential stretch that includes an elementary school, a playground, and a parking garage — was halted in October when Adams said “long-term residents” hadn’t been given enough input.
An additional round of public outreach took place shortly after, but the project remained in limbo for months without word from Adams administration officials.
That changed Wednesday, when Department of Transportation officials said work on the largely-finished redesign would resume overnight.
“Following a thorough community engagement process, it is clear the community strongly supports this work on Underhill Avenue, which will better protect everyone on the corridor,” DOT spokesman Vincent Barone told the Daily News.
A 2021 DOT survey of 1,500 nearby residents found that 86% wanted a permanent street redesign for Underhill and nearby Vanderbilt Ave.
Wednesday’s announcement comes days after reporting by Streetsblog that some area residents had apparently taken it upon themselves to complete the project, installing planters and other traffic obstructions ahead of DOT crews.
Barone confirmed that the project is close to completion — crews are expected to paint new double-yellow and double-white lines in the coming days, as well as adding green paint and stenciling to the protected bike lanes.
In the spring, the DOT expects to finish marking one final traffic-diverting section on the avenue, which stretches from Eastern Parkway near the Brooklyn Public Library northward to Atlantic Ave.
The plan aims to slow car traffic on Underhill Ave. by making some sections oneway and placing traffic diverters and planters on the street while installing sections of protected bike lane between the sidewalk and parked cars.
The plan also removes a parking space from in front of the entrance to James Forten Playground and from street corners along the road in an effort to improve visibility.
Opponents of the plan have argued that the shift to one-way traffic and the installation of obstructions like planters make it difficult for emergency vehicles to travel on Underhill Ave., and that the loss of parking spaces affects neighborhood residents as well as teachers at nearby P.S. 9.
DOT officials declined Wednesday to make the results of the second round of community outreach available to The News, but said the survey had included door-to-door outreach and an online survey in addition to setting up tables for discussion throughout the neighborhood.