Join Transportation Alternatives and local advocates as they celebrate the new car-free hours. Join us for an after-work snack as they reach out to park-goers about the new car-free hours, and ensure cars respect the new hours.

Despite all the enthusiasm surrounding the announcement of additional car-free hours in Central Park (PDF) earlier this month, Brooklynites felt slighted that Prospect Park had been overlooked. But this week, the DOT and Department of Parks and Recreation announced a fractional closure of the Prospect Park east loop drive. Beginning Monday, August 27th, cars will no longer be allowed on the east loop drive between 5-7 pm. The only times in which Prospect Park will be open to cars are weekdays from 7-9 am on the east drive and 5-7 pm on the west drive.

Brooklyn has less park space per resident than any other borough. Increasing car-free hours in Prospect Park prioritizes the hundreds of thousands of Brooklynites in need of recreation over the small number of motorists who use the recreational loop drive as a shortcut. Transportation Alternatives has long advocated for the complete closure of Prospect Park’s loop drive to cars and is pushing for a car-free summer trial in 2008. A Transportation Alternatives study (PDF) conducted in 2006 found that 4 out of 5 Prospect Park-goers would use the park more often if cars were permanently banned from the loop drive.