Rethinking Grand Army Plaza

Placemaking Workshop SummaryMarch 2007

RETHINKING GRAND ARMY PLAZA

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPMARCH 10, 2007

BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARYGRAND ARMY PLAZA

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

2 RETHINKING GRAND ARMY PLAZA

Community Planning Workshop March 10, 2007 Brooklyn Public Library Grand Army Plaza 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Workshop Hosted by: Grand Army Plaza Coalition (GAPco)Workshop Facilitated by: Project for Public Spaces

Special Thanks to: Brooklyn Public Library Heart of Brooklyn Prospect Park Alliance Park Slope Civic Council Gowanus Community Stakeholder Group StreetFilms NYC Street Renaissance

For more information on Grand Army Plaza please visit: http://www.grandarmyplaza.org/

RETHINKING GRAND ARMY PLAZA 3

TABLE OF CONTENTSPLACEMAKING WORKSHOP PROCESS SUMMARY 5

INTRODUCTION 7

QUALITIES OF A GREAT PUBLIC SPACE 9

VISION 11

KEY ISSUES 13

OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS 15

PLACEGAME PARTICIPANTS 17

PLACEGAME SITES AND RESULTS 19

RETHINKING GRAND ARMY PLAZA


GAPco and Project for Public Spaces presents the goals of the community Placemaking work-shop and describes the day’s events.

Workshop participants break into groups and go out to Grand Army Plaza to perform the Place Performance Evaluation at 7 different locations.

Participants return to discuss the Place Game, draw recommendations and summarize their groups impressions of: • What they like best about Grand Army

Plaza

• Short term improvements

• Long term vision

• Potential partners

Each group reports back to all workshop par-ticipants, describing issues and opportunities they identified for Grand Army Plaza.

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPPROCESS SUMMARYMarch 10, 2007

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PPS’ Place Diagram.


INTRODUCTION

Grand Army Plaza Coalition (GAPco) was formed by a group of committed local residents in March of 2006 to focus on ways to improve Grand Army Plaza and connect the surrounding neighborhoods with what could potentially be one of the most important public spaces in the borough of Brooklyn. Since its founding, GAPco has undertaken a number of activi-ties to better understand how the plaza functions, including: a walk-through with interested community members to more closely observe the area; hosted the Danish architect Jan Gehl to conduct a design study and present design alternatives for the plaza; met with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to propose desired recommendations to the plaza; initi-ated a clean-up effort for the plaza; and now, hosted a community planning workshop.

Project for Public Spaces, Inc. (PPS), a New York-based non-profit that has worked on the design and management of public spaces around the world, is working with GAPco to help rethink the plaza. PPS’ Placemaking process allows diverse constituencies to identify how a public space can be reshaped to make it a welcome, well-functioning and attractive place for people. In the case of Grand Army Plaza, this includes local residents, cultural institutions which surround the plaza, elected officials, neighbourhood and advo-cacy groups, and nearby business owners.

Over the past 32 years Project for Public Spaces has evaluated more than 2,000 public spaces, and informally investigated tens of thousands more. Our approach to Placemaking is based on the idea that

successful public spaces involve more than just design. Rather, improvements should grow out of a public involvement process that defines and responds to community conditions and needs from the outset. Our experience has shown that this is one of the most critical factors in achieving a public space that is truly sensitive to its context.

Placemaking, as PPS approaches it, begins with a thorough understanding of the dynamics, desires, and conditions within a community. It involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people in that community about both their problems and aspira-tions. We work with them to create a vision around the places they view as important to community life and to their daily experience; we help them imple-ment their ideas beginning with short term, often experimental improvements.

Based on our work in Placemaking, we have developed the Place Diagram: What Makes a Great Place? (shown at left). This diagram outlines the major attributes of well-functioning places, along with the intangible qualities that people use to positively describe them, and the elements that can be used to measure their success. The major attributes outlined on the diagram are sociability, uses and activities, access and linkages, and comfort and image. We have found this tool to be particularly useful in helping communities discuss the issues of importance to them. They also reflect issues that consistently surface in the communities where we have worked.


Traffic, transit and the pedestrian: the area is well connected to other places.

Identity and image: the area highlights its history and has district-related signage.

The inner and the outer park: there are active edge uses, gateways and entrances, and the area is visible from a distance.

Amenities: the area attracts a variety of users, there are comfortable places to sit, and the area serves as a source of local and regional civic pride.


QUALITIES OF A GREAT PUBLIC SQUARE

Whether they are parks, plazas, public squares, streets, civic institutions, sidewalks or the myriad of other outdoor and indoor spaces, improving or creating successful public spaces all have, to varying degrees, the following qualities:

· Traffic Transit and the Pedestrian

Grand Army Plaza should be visually and function-ally connected to surrounding destinations and areas, by a range of transportation options. There should be a balance of modes; private and com-mercial vehicles should not dominate.

· The Inner and Outer Park

Grand Army Plaza should have active edge uses, gateways and entrances, and focal points to draw visitors in and through the space to and from a range of activities.

· Attractions and Destinations

Grand Army Plaza should have numerous choices of things to do, and opportunities should be clustered around destinations. Grand Army Plaza should be part of/help catalyze/ a district with 10+ distinct places, each with 10+ things to do in them.

· Identity and Information

Grand Army Plaza should showcase local assets, culture and civic identity.

· Flexibility in Design

Grand Army Plaza should support overlapping and changing uses, form should support function, experimentation, and small-scale activities.

· Amenities and Image

Grand Army Plaza should have a variety of com-fortable places to sit and types of seating; attract and be comfortable for a range of ages and users; and be a source of local and regional pride.

· Management: Central to the Solution

Management presence should be felt through se-curity maintenance, knowledgeable and accessible staff, ongoing and visible improvement efforts.

· Seasonal Strategies

Programming should be year-round.

· Diverse funding sources

Grand Army Plaza should not rely on only one source of funding. Partner with local institutions and other stakeholders to foster stewardship of the area.

· Reach out like an Octopus

The activity at Grand Army Plaza should better serve and connect to the surrounding neighbor-hoods. Prospect Park, Flatbush Avenue, Vanderbilt Avenue, Union Street, Prospect Park West, Eastern Parkway, St. John’s Place and Vanderbilt Avenue should all feel like a part of this larger district.


VISION

(DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION)

Grand Army Plaza, as one of Brooklyn’s most signifi-cant destinations, should draw on and highlight the cultural, institutional, neighborhood, historical and economic assets of the surrounding neighborhoods.

The experience of the plaza should be broadened by linking it with its surroundings and engaging neighbor-hood institutions and communities as a part of the process of furthering the vision. Presented below is the start of a vision that could be evolved with fur-ther input from local stakeholders.

MAKE IT A HEALTHY HEART

• Already known as “the heart of Brooklyn”, work to make the heart more healthy—increase people presence and activity, reduce the noise and pollu-tion from automobile traffic

• Increase the amount and variety of activities that happen on the plaza

• Celebrate the area’s present and past at Grand Army Plaza

• Improve public safety

GET CONNECTED

• Improve the links, physically and programmatically, between the plaza with the surrounding neighbor-hoods, institutions, commercial areas, and Prospect Park

PUT PEOPLE IN THE PLAZA

• Reduce the amount of surface area dedicated to automobiles and create more space for people

Make Grand Army Plaza a comfortable and easy place to get to and from.

Work to create a plaza that draws people to it and creates lasting memories--a place people will want to return.

Plan for the place we want Grand Army Plaza to become.


KEY ISSUES

The following are key issues identified by workshop participants.

PEDESTRIAN WAYFINDING, ORIENTATION AND ACCESS

Participants continually highlighted the lack of connec-tivity between the various parts of Grand Army Plaza, specifically lack of neighborhood connections and the disconnect between Prospect Park and the fountain/arch plaza. Although there is good transit access at the plaza, with both subway and bus connections, there was not enough supporting wayfinding information to give people clear direction of where to go, or infor-mation as to why they may want to explore the area beyond their direct purpose of being there.

Several issues relating to wayfinding/access were: • Unclear sight lines to the fountain and arch from

the neighborhood streets

• Lack of informational and directional signage about institutions and destinations in and around the Plaza.

• Inability to clearly and quickly get from one area of the plaza to another

• Isolation of the arch and fountain area by traffic

• Dangerous intersections to navigate on foot

PUBLIC AMENITIES

Participants in all the areas evaluated commented on the lack of basic amenities that would better serve the pedestrian, including seating options, drinking fountains, bathrooms, better signage, safer gather-ing spaces, and small kiosks or coffee carts near the transportation connections and the green market. The noise from the traffic was also noted as something that influenced people’s perception of the comfort of the area.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL TIE-INS

Within a few blocks’ walk of Grand Army Plaza are the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Museum, Brook-lyn Botanic Garden, the Prospect Park Zoo, count-less shops, restaurants and homes, and the renowned Prospect Park. Though many of Brooklyn’s greatest cultural institutions are located within minutes of the plaza, there is little evidence of the physical and pro-grammatic connections they have to this area.

There are many statues and monuments to the Civil War and various leaders with connections to Brook-lyn’s past, yet it was felt that some statues were being dishonored by the lack of care shown from them through maintenance, etc. Furthermore, there are portions of Brooklyn’s history which people felt deserved to be more appropriately highlighted in the plaza, such as a statue or memorial commemorating African American contributions to the Civil War.

ROAD SPACE VS. PUBLIC SPACE

People thought there was too much space dedicated to cars, as proven by the amount of asphalt in the plaza. “Unsafe”, “dangerous”, “traffic-dominated”, and “unused” were all words commonly used to describe the area. All the asphalt separated various areas, and made crossing various areas difficult, especially difficult was the access to the central arch and fountain area. Paving and other treatments to connect current pub-lic spaces, such as the area in front of the park en-trance where the greenmarket operates, to the arch and central fountain, were encouraged.

MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAMMING

In order to reach its potential, the entire plaza needs to be managed and activated in such a way to put the needs of people, transportation, culture and nature in a more harmonious balance. People wanted to build


off the success of programming from this past winter with the blue lights at the plaza and host other events to draw people to the area. Expanding the green mar-ket presence, both physically and in terms of operat-ing days, was also desired.

The berms and the sidewalks along them were high-lighted for increased management. They were the source of much debate in terms of the benefit they caused in reduced noise traffic on Plaza Streets East and West versus the physical boundary the create in terms of access to the arch and fountain. People sug-

gested opening up the fences and making pedestrian paths through them to the center plaza. Installing a dog run or children’s play area were other sugges-tions. The lack of maintenance and upkeep of the berm and sidewalk areas was consistently highlighted. Involving co-op boards in the management and pro-gramming of the berms, and the sidewalks along Plaza Street, was recommended by various groups. A greater sense of ownership could be achieved by including a small portion of their maintenance fee for berm/sidewalk upkeep.


OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS

Several big ideas came out of the workshop. The fol-lowing recommendations resulted from the Placemak-ing workshop, and are presented through the lens of PPS’ experience in evaluating and improving public spaces in general.

1. Conduct short-term improvements. Take the most feasible suggestions from the workshop and start experimenting. Start showing people the future of Grand Army Plaza can start now.

2. Close the gap. Connect the arch with Prospect Park by extending the entrance plaza to the arch (using paving, etc.).

3. Improve access to the plaza and connect it into a broader circulation system for pedes-trians, bicyclists, automobiles and transit users. Balance the user needs. Make sure bicycle lanes aren’t dumped into fast-moving traffic.

4. Create clear pathways to the “center” across the berms. Create access (visual and/or pedestrian) through the berms in a continuation of Berkeley Place, Lincoln Place, St. John’s Place, and Butler Place. Sight lines and physical connec-tion will increase presence and use of arch and fountain.

5. Relocate the “entrance” to Prospect Park to the north side of Grand Army Plaza. Cre-ate a symbolic entrance on the north side of the plaza that marks the beginning of Prospect Park at Grand Army Plaza. Treat this area as a part of the park rather than a traffic circle.

6. Transfer asphalt to more pedestrian-friend-ly spaces. Ideas included extending the paving surface of entrance of the park across to the arch and fountain area and closing the right-hand turn ramp from traffic going south in the plaza making aright-hand turn onto Union Street. This would indicate to cars they are in a special place and would need to drive more carefully and slowly.

7. Connect the west berm area to the arch and fountain by converting the west side of the inner circle from traffic lanes to a pedestrian plaza. Traffic would be rerouted to the east side of the arch and fountain area.

8. Partner with local institutions. Partnering with local institutions to improve this area as the heart of Brooklyn would not only strengthen the plaza but also the various institutions. For exam-ple, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens could display rotating horticultural displays, the library could host events in the plaza, and the zoo could part-ner with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum to host an event oriented to children in the plaza.

9. Continue this process. Formalize GAPco’s role as an advisor and manager of the public process to keep the community visioning productive and ef-fective. Use the March 10 Placemaking Workshop and this document to raise funds for increased participation and ideas to improve the heart of Brooklyn.


Over fifty people gathered to participate in the Placemaking workshop on March 10, 2007.


PLACEGAME PARTICIPANTS

The following organizations were represented at the March 10 Placemaking Workshop.

RESIDENTS

Eastern ParkwayPlaza Street EastPlaza Street WestProspect HeightsPark Slope

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS

Crown Heights North AssociationDean Street Block AssociationPark Slope NeighborsProspect Heights Parents Association

CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

Brooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn MuseumBrooklyn Public LibraryHeart of BrooklynProspect Park Alliance

ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS

Citizens for NYCBrooklyn Greenway InitiativeGowanus Community Stakeholder GroupNYC Landmarks Preservation CommissionProject for Public SpacesTransportation Alternatives

BUSINESS GROUPS

North Flatbush Business Improvement DistrictProspect Heights Neighborhood Development Coun-cil

CIVIC LEADERS/ORGANIZATIONS

Councilmember, 35th DistrictCommunity Board 6Community Board 8Letitia James, Councilmember, 35th DistrictPark Slope Civic Council

OTHER

North Jersey Transportation Planning AuthorityPratt InstituteStreetFilms


Aerial of Grand Army Plaza.


PLACEGAME EVALUATION SITES & RESULTS

Participants at the Placemaking Workshop evaluated seven spaces. The comments from each group are detailed below.

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ENTRANCE TO PROSPECT PARK, GREEN MARKET

SITE 1 EVALUATION AREA

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SITE 1

LIKE BEST

• Large space with great potential

• Lots of potential to green the area

• Views from this area, especially of the arch

• Proximity to the park

• Location and relationship to recreation areas

• The market

• Watching people—kids and people exercising, and the dogs

ISSUES

• Roadway entrance to the park very wide; very accom-modating to traffic

• If you are using the park when cars are allowed, there is nowhere for people to be

• The area is pretty drab

• Currently more asphalt than “greenery”

• Not a pedestrian or bicycle friendly area

• On the way out of the park, bicyclists don’t have space

• Greenmarket is very large, all asphalt, not much there to make it comfortable for people

• Gazebos smell like urine, they are not a good place for sitting, hanging out

o No restrooms

• No area for bike parking: a major place for people on bikes, locked to sign poles, etc.

• Not a good separation between greenmarket entrance and surrounding streets

• If you are standing in area on a typical day, you don’t feel like you are in a park

• Would like to be able to access the arch easier

The green market is a popular draw for the area.

The entrance to the park is most heavily geared for automobiles.


• You are technically in the park, but have a long way to go before you are in a usable “park” space

• Hard to cross the streets to get to this area

SHORT TERM IMPROVEMENTS

• Separate arch from roadway by creating a plaza that uses a different material than the road surface

• Create a barrier between the traffic and the park; use garbage cans and cones to keep cars out of the green-market and park area

• Send a signal to the drivers that they are in a park: have a separated entrance into park drive for pedestrians (especially families with strollers)

• Add seating

• Add plants and trees

• Add more decoration—lighting, fixtures, etc.—endless possibilities

• Have the green market operate more than once a week

• Create places for kids to play—sculptures, not a tradi-tional playground—a reason for families to go there

o Families would not have to enter into the more formal park but could play right in this area

o A children’s book sculpture (relating to the library) would be appropriate

• Improve signage for people walking through—current ones not in convenient places

• Create a dog run

• Have a place for street performers

LONG TERM IMPROVEMENTS

• Cut back traffic lanes and remove vehicular traffic from Prospect Park

• Create a performance area

Extending paving, adding seating and planters all could make the entrance plaza to Prospect Park more inviting.

Non-traditional play areas, such as this sculpture from Alice in Wonder-land in Central Park, could draw families to the area.


• Install a Shake Shack like at Madison Square Park in Manhattan

o A permanent vendor at the greenmarket site

• Extend the tiles that are currently on the walkway to expand the plaza and create a special place

• Crosswalk improvements

o Widen the crosswalks

o Lengthen the crossing times

INTERVIEWS

Like Best

• Farmers market

• Social place

• It is a community meeting place

Issues

• Needs to be calmer and safer for pedestrians

• “Crossing is a nightmare!”

• No where to sit and have a cup of coffee

• Not enough benches

Improvements

• Clean the gazebo

• Have a coffee truck

• Add services like food and beverage vendors

• Add benches

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Castle Senior Living

• Preschoolers at Union Temple

Widen crosswalks and adjust light timings to allow more time for people to cross the streets.

Cleaning the gazebos was desired; they are reported to smell.



SITE 1

GROUP ONE’S VISION FOR SITE 1.


EASTERN PARKWAY, LIBRARY PLAZA & PLAZA STREET EAST


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SITE 2

LIKE BEST

• Potential is great

• Great vistas—of the park, arch, fountain, library, Eastern Parkway, Flatbush Avenue

ISSUES

• Don’t get a sense of where you are—no signage to connect you to the various areas

• Can’t see the connections with Eastern Parkway hill


• Add more/improve existing crosswalks

o Eastern Parkway median to the berm

o Create crosswalk from the berm to the arch

o Crosswalk across Flatbush: needs to be bigger and more accessible

o Make crosswalks more identifiable from Eastern Parkway service road to library; not very easy to see as is

• Planters and planting near the subway vent

• Improve signage


• Redesign and extend the berm south

o Widen it, more medians—make it connected with the Eastern Parkway median widening

• Reduce traffic lanes

• Add traffic light

The area has great views, and with the new library plaza coming soon, the potential will only increase.

Improving the existing crosswalks was a repeated suggestion for im-provement.


INTERVIEWS

Like Best

• Great space

Issues

• Lack of crosswalks

• Crossing from the market to the arch to the berm is difficult

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Neighborhood groups and tenants associations

• Prospect Park Alliance

• Library—Friends of Central branch

o Could help with maintenance

• Heart of Brooklyn

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden

o The garden could help with plantings and landscap-ing

• Brooklyn Museum

o Temporary artwork from the museum

• BYC

• PPWC

• Brooklyn Children’s Museum

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden could become an involved partner with Grand Army Plaza by installing plantings or landscaping.

Crossing from the arch to the berm is difficult.



SITE 2

GROUP TWO’S VISION FOR SITE 2.


PLAZA ST EAST, VANDERBILT AVE, THE BERM, NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIONS WITH BUTLER PLACE & ST JOHN’S PLACE


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SITE 3

LIKE BEST

• It works—on the outside side of the street

• Bike lane

• Seating

• Green-ness; an oasis

• Sheltered

• Wide sidewalks

• Connection with other areas

ISSUES

• We’ve got to get people to the fountain—how do you do it?

• Bus transit area: no shelter there—windiest corner on the street

• People drive in the bike lane

• On the “inside” part of the circle: there is so much that is not being used—you have benches and berm but you have a view of Daytona 500—seems like you are at a NASCAR event


• Make it nicer: better maintenance, cobblestones/pavers, garbage collections

• Cut out the grass out of the northern part of the berm and create a semi-circle plaza extended from Plaza Street around the corner for a new bus stop plaza on Vanderbilt Avenue

o Evaluate the current bus shelter

• Delayed-pedestrian head-start for crossing the street

• Calm Plaza Street East

• Hatch out unused portion of the street

• More benches and planters/trees

Wide sidewalks and being sheltered from the inner circle were impor-tant characteristics of Plaza Street East.

Creating a covered bus shelter on Vanderbilt Avenue was desired.


• Create a dog run on the inside of the berm

• Install pedestrian-oriented signage

• Contextual fencing with regard to the berms


• Rethink the berm

o Create view corridors from the side streets

o Have walking paths through them

• Take ownership of the berms

• Create a street-level pedestrian crossing to Bailey Fountain

• Possibly create a subway tunnel to the arch/fountain

INTERVIEWS

Issues

• It is dangerous

• Usually walk on the “outer” side (Plaza St., not the circle)

• A lot of wasted space in this area

Improvements

• Needs a barrier of flowers

• Improve garbage can maintenance

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Co-op boards to help support the maintenance and care of the berms

• MTA New York City Transit

• Vanderbilt Avenue Merchants Association

• Flatbush Avenue business groups

Activate the berms; one suggestion was to create a dog run inside the berm.

Create a visual or pedestrian access through the berms to reach and view the fountain and arch area.



SITE 3

GROUP THREE’S VISION FOR SITE 3.


VANDERBILT AVENUE, FLATBUSH/VANDERBILT INTERSECTION


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SITE 4

LIKE BEST

• Trees

• The area is a gateway/entrance to this area

• Good transit access with bus and train connections

• Pedestrian traffic on Plaza Street

• Plaza Street seating

• Efficient traffic

• The part outside the berms

ISSUES

• Overwhelming traffic

• Safety issues: traffic doesn’t always stop at the red light

• Area not connected to the arch

• No reason to stop and linger; people just pass right through

• Traffic merging onto Flatbush is a problem


• Striping of Vanderbilt for pedestrian crossing

• Safe berm access

• Better pedestrian signage for more attractions, ban-ners, or anything else that attracts attention

• Berm programming with a variety of activities

• Better timing for pedestrian crossings, less lane turning movements

• Kiosk—we may need two of them (one already exists)

• Kiosk could have a directory that brings people on board—local organizations—residence participation in berm design and maintenance

• Add a children’s playground

Good transit access, seating, and pedestrian traffic were the highlights of this area.

An info kiosk to show directional information as well as information on local cultural institutions and events.



• Encourage commerce in the area

o Commercial overlay

o Push carts with coffee

o Kiosk

• Flatbush Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

• Change the signal timing for pedestrians on Vanderbilt corners

• Decrease lanes and turning movements

• Create better direct routes to the “park”—arch/foun-tain

• Create sight lines from the side streets to see arch

• Underground programming in berms—Irish Hunger Memorial

• Extend island so the traffic from Flatbush Ave and Van-derbilt Ave doesn’t collide—many accidents there

• Increase bike safety through installing a stoplight on Plaza Street East

INTERVIEWS

Like Best

• Transit options are good

• Close to the park

Issues

• Concern for getting stuck on traffic islands

• Danger for pedestrians at Vanderbilt corner

Improvements

• More places to sit

Like this coffee cart on 8th Ave, have a kiosk in Grand Army Plaza to encourage commerce and activity.

Increase bike safety on Plaza Street East.


LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Prospect Park Alliance

• Parks Department

• Department of Transportation (DOT)

• Community Boards

• BIDS (North Flatbush and Vanderbilt Avenues)

o Activate space to draw customers to their busi-nesses

• Involve local merchants

o Fund information kiosk, directory of locations

o Contribute to upkeep

• Residents’ participation in berm design and mainte-nance

Local co-op boards can help contribute to berm maintenance and design.



SITE 4

GROUP FOUR’S VISION FOR SITE 4.


FLATBUSH AVENUE, LINCOLN PLACE, ST JOHN’S PLACE


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SITE 5

LIKE BEST

• Potential

• Scale of the area

• Lots of trees

• Quiet area

• Great architecture

• Good transit connections and accessibility

ISSUES

• Greatest sensory element: the traffic noise, even on a Saturday morning

• Went across the center island: ten crosswalks to get there

• An awful lot of noise, traffic behaving in strange ways

• Traffic flow on Flatbush/St. John’s Place is a big deal

• Orientation is to the outer ring, nothing to draw peo-ple into the circle

• Signage a problem

• Newsstand by subway is an eyesore—not open all the time and is getting less and less business

• High-traffic area

• St. Johns/Flatbush/8th Avenue junction is very unsafe—right hand turns very dangerous

• Frequent use of bike lane by cars

• Cars barely stop at Berkeley Place and Plaza Street West

• Inner circle unused by the public

• Excessive number of traffic lanes

• Berms are filthy

o Some dead trees in the berm; some brush cleaning in berm, but cuttings left behind

The scale of the area, along with the trees and quietness were all ap-preciated aspects of this area.

Heavy traffic was an issue; the St. John’s/Flatbush Ave/8th Ave intersec-tion was mentioned as being particularly dangerous.


• Wide sidewalk around plaza with very little use


• Open up the berm

• Neighbors need to be engaged to a greater sense of ownership about the berm

o Especially for maintenance/upkeep

• “You gotta have park”—get people coming out to clean up berms and sidewalks

• Improve signage, create a sense of entry

o Make local destinations known—i.e. Prospect Park, Brooklyn Public Library, etc.

• More modern-designed benches: current ones are clunky, not comfortable or inviting to sit on

• Improve the kiosk at the subway station; have some-thing more architecturally appropriate—a café or shake shack

• Remove ads from subway

• Remove bus lane

• Improve fencing


• Open up the berms

• Seek to introduce a greater commercial element

• Create a portal/entry to Prospect Park from the north (Flatbush Ave/subway)

o Currently, you only see the lamppost—nothing else

o For further thinking: how do we improve this as a visible entry point and orientation to the park?

• Possibly re-route the traffic through this area

o Close St. John’s Place between 8th Ave and Flatbush

Opening up the berm and/or improving the fencing were short term actions identified to improve the area.

Create a grand entranceway from Flatbush, to feel like one enters the Park at this spot.


• Move bike path next to the curb (other side of parked cars)

INTERVIEWS

Like Best

• Convenient subway access

• Can use subway to cross Flatbush

• People sit in the triangle

Issues

• No sign indicating the blinking red is a stop/go—install a green arrow?

Improvements

• Close St. John’s triangle

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Montauk club

• Flatbush Ave businesses

• Co-op boards

• Expand the green market presence

o Have it run on more days

o Introduce a market-based restaurant (Al Di La, Garden Café?)

• “Gotta have park” as a catalyst for local resident own-ership

Move the bike lane to the other side of the parked cars to protect rid-ers.

Engage businesses on Flatbush Avenue in activating Grand Army Plaza, through small satellite kiosks or other programmatic contributions.



SITE 5

GROUP FIVE’S VISION FOR SITE 5.


UNION STREET, PLAZA STREET WESTSITE 6 EVALUATION AREA

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7Warren


UNION STREET, PLAZA STREET WESTSITE 6

LIKE BEST

• Berkeley Place and Plaza Street are very quiet and peaceful

• Historic significance of the area

• Potential to be a great public space

• Potential to connect plaza

• The corner at Prospect Park West at entrance to the park is an attractive ceremonial entrance to the park

• Plaza Street West is a pleasant oasis; feels sheltered

• The green market

• The south end of the berm has potential as a social space

ISSUES

• Street crossing from green market across Plaza Street West is difficult at best

o Really long crossing, you have the senior housing, etc.

o Union Street/Plaza Street West feels very danger-ous to cross

o Senior Center needs access

• West-bound Union St traffic dangerous

• Farmers market disconnected from plaza

• Cyclist access very poor

• Hatch marks are really ugly, blocking the box, highway signage and lamppost doesn’t fit with the context of the park

• Horrible bottle-necking on Union between 7th Avenue and Prospect Park West

• The statue area is unkempt; the statue seems dishon-ored

• Useless space near the statue; no one goes/walks there

South end of the berm island has the potential to be a social place.

Crossing is dangerous and time-consuming; hatch marks and highway lighting are out of context; pedestrian/cyclist access is poor.


• Bike lane on Plaza Street West is absurd—lets bikers off in the middle of traffic

• Subways and buses are in the inaccessible inner-berm area

• Bus stop is not safe at night

• Bumpy cobblestones

• No protection from traffic in the inner-berm area

• People never walk the shortest distance—go around the plaza

• Wayfinding information is lacking and is necessary


• Install a bathroom in the area

• Bump-out curbs—for shorter crossing across Prospect Park West

• Enlarge/integrate market space

• Connect the arch to the green market

• Improve bike/pedestrian/transit access

• Off-ramp area from inner ring to Union Street (right-hand turning traffic)

o Traffic-calm this area

o Close off-ramp and connect statue area with island

• Increase seating area and greenery

• Open up the berm

• Create pedestrian access through the berm

• Create a better way-finding system

• Install chess and other inviting activities


• Turn Union Street into a greenway street— connect to

Inner circle area is unprotected; bus stop is not located where people want to go and is reported as being unsafe.

Chess and other games could be installed in near the statue.


future Brooklyn Bridge Park and Brooklyn Greenway from Prospect Park

• Close westbound Union Street; make it one-way

• Make Prospect Park West two-way

• Create a green bicycle two-way path separated from traffic

• Create accessibility across the berms—could be a site line into the neighborhoods and into the fountain

• Taking down the berms a possibility

• Take back some of the eight lanes of traffic in inner circle

o Row of parked cars inside the area could calm traf-fic

o Greenery, planters

INTERVIEWS

Issues

• Pedestrian crossing at Union and Plaza Street is danger-ous; cars going toward 8th Avenue—hinders people crossing

• Need better pedestrian crossing

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Encourage local groups to maintain berm and addition-al greenery by bus stops along Grand Army Plaza

Use greenery and planters to enhance the area.

Better pedestrian crossings are needed.


UNION STREET, PLAZA STREET WESTSITE 6

GROUP SIX’S VISION FOR SITE 6.


THE ARCH & FOUNTAINSITE 7 EVALUATION AREA

GRAND ARMY PLZ

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Warren

Bailey


THE ARCH & FOUNTAINSITE 7

LIKE BEST

• Like that it is a quiet, majestic, grand area, like the feel

• Architecture and beauty—the arch and fountain

• Monumental scale

• Historic value

• Lighting this winter helped activate the area—now we have to let people get closer

• Could be a grand entrance and promenade to Prospect Park

• Open space, trees

• View corridor down Vanderbilt Avenue

• Peaceful in the middle of the space

ISSUES

• Accessibility a big issue

• No connection to side streets and poor connections with Flatbush Avenue and Prospect Park

• Too empty, doesn’t feel safe

• Usually empty, except for wedding photos

• Kind of useless


• Space between the arch and fountain—add bollards to make a space for pedestrians

• More connections

o Provide traffic light crossing between arch and the park

o Mid-block crosswalks across straight-a-ways with walk-ways through berms

o More crosswalks and striping to surrounding areas

o Add orientation maps

The majestic and historic quality of this area is one of the area’s great-est assets.

Use bollards to control traffic and create pedestrian places.


• Increase lighting

• More seating and flowers inside fountain area

• Install drinking fountain

• Add public art or temporary shows at various times

• Increase programming

• Orientation maps in the area to make it part of the area (with park rules)

• Activity tables for chess or other games

• Study where people are coming from and going to and do they have to go through this area

• Clean out trash and dead leaves

• Narrow emergency through-way

o Use alternate road treatment to diminish the visual presence—i.e. slightly raised cobblestone

• Close Prospect Park to cars

• Eliminate crossover at south end of plaza


• Close one side of inner-circle lanes to traffic and make the other side two-way

• Close inner ring to cars

o Convert whole area to pedestrian area

o Widen outer ring

• Reduce lanes in plaza to reflect input/output streets

o Take away some of the traffic lanes (at least one)

• “Drive less” campaign

• Add permanent art piece adding into the civil war theme to show African American contribution to civil war

• Add bathrooms in the area

• Connect subway station underneath

Reduce the number of traffic lanes surrounding the center island.

Have more seating options and decorative flowers near the fountain.


• Open new 2/3 subway entrance in circle center

• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Flatbush; connect to subway

• Close space between arch and park

• Cut through berms to increase access

• Hiking on the berms to allow access

• Library is going to have food and seating—how to har-monize with that?

• Cobblestone the area between arch and fountain

• Look at traffic speeds from feeder roads vs. on the circle—are people just speeding up when the hit it?

• More public events for the community

INTERVIEWS

Like Best

• The mellowness

• Love the fountain

• European feel

Issues

• Sycamore trees block view

• Hidden/notorious destination

• No connection to park; accessibility is perilous

Improvements

• Clean the arch and fountain area

• Vendor activities might help

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

• BIDs

• Civic organizations

• Art organizations

• Performances under the arch

When the library plaza opens up, how will the center arch and fountain relate to the plaza seating and food?

Create the flexible stage for informal community events to occur.


THE ARCH & FOUNTAINSITE 7

GROUP SEVEN’S VISION FOR SITE 7.

Rethinking Grand Army Plaza

Design

Transcript of Rethinking Grand Army Plaza