Cars, bicycles and pedestrians must share the road, but parks are for people, not cars. I don’t believe roads should be used as main thoroughfares within parks and for enjoyment, health and safety reasons, I would be in favor of closing loop roads, especially if a motorist can get from point A to point B some other way. I do think, however, that these roads should remain intact and available for use when there are special events and/or emergencies. I do not believe there would be an increased amount of traffic in the surrounding areas as motorists tend to find a better route when driving patterns are changed. People in the surrounding community would also have the ability you use a safer, cleaner park if cars were banned.

5. Central Park is my favorite place in the city, and restricting the traffic on the loop drives has had a positive effect on its wonderful atmosphere. I am also cognizant of the health and safety benefits of keeping traffic out of a recreational area, as well as the benefit of reducing congestion citywide. I support closing the loop drives to cars, as their destinations can all be accessed by other routes. I believe this measure has gained widespread community and political support, and the benefits of preserving parkland as a discretely recreational space and reducing traffic congestion will greatly outweigh the inconvenience of certain motorists needing to take an alternate route.

Restricting traffic will encourage people to find new, cleaner modes of transportation, make the park safer, and allow more people to enjoy our City’s urban sanctuaries. It also may have the effect of reducing traffic in surrounding neighborhoods, as fewer cars will drive through to use the loops. While completely closing down the loops should be experimented with, to study the effects it would have both on the park and on the surrounding neighborhoods, this experiment must be done in an open way with plenty of opportunity for public input at hearings.

My City Council district represents a number of neighborhoods that surround Prospect Park. I have called on the City to study the feasibility of making Prospect Park car-free with a three-month car-free trial. Because Prospect Park is such a popular destination for Brooklynites, it is very busy. From morning till night, the loop drive is packed with people walking, running, and riding bikes. When cars are permitted to drive through the park, people are often put in danger. While the benefits of prohibiting cars from the park are many, I also recognize that closing Prospect Park to traffic will impact the surrounding community and, therefore, any exploration of this policy change must include area residents from the beginning. Conducting a three-month study and trial closure to fully analyze the resulting effects on traffic and related quality of life issues would allow the City and the community to understand the full impact of a full closure.

In a city with as high urban density as New York, teeming with over 8 million people, increasing the amount of parks and green space available, and protecting access to existing parks, is vital. Many neighborhoods lack sufficient park space, which makes preserving urban jewels like Central and Prospect Parks even more critical.
In the City Council, I’m proud to have written a law that increases accountability over the Parks Department, making reporting more transparent and enabling New Yorkers to track upkeep and sanitation at parks across the City. And in my district, I’ve worked to create green space and opened access to the Queens waterfront, securing funding to create a greenway that would connect with Brooklyn and run the entire length of the East River.
As someone who enjoys running in Central Park whenever I can (regrettably less often during campaign season), I would support efforts to increase the safety and health of New Yorkers who use the Central and Prospect Park loops for recreational purposes, especially if such measures would enable more New Yorkers to use the parks.