The “Urban Aperture” of 4th Ave. & 9th Street opens up the possibilities of recreating and reimagining community by advancing new social spaces, inviting pathways, bicycle lanes & services, sustainability, community resource education, safety & security, entertainment, permaculture. This century’s paradigm shift can transform this Brooklyn neighborhood into the streetscape of the 21st Century incrementally.

It starts with the 21st Century Traffic Signal cycle…
1) Pedestrians first, on textured (brick) “humps”; with time-saving diagonal crossings
2) Bicycle signal timing is next; the “bike box” between pedestrian crosswalk and vehicle stop line, for bicyclists to gather & change lanes (ex.: left turns) during a stop signal. Located for loading a bus bike rack at bus stops, it’s aligned with curbside bike parking. 9th Street separated Green Bicycle Lane (green concrete), has discrete bike crossing signals
3) Regionwide traffic signal synchronization keeps vehicles moving: 75, 77, & 103 transit bus lines, tractor-trailer routes on 4th Avenue and northwest on 9th Street to Gowanus Canal, delivery trucks, taxis & autos moving to minimize pollution.

Taking walks to another level…
Part New Orleans French Quarter, part shopping mall, 2nd & 3rd level elevated walkways interconnect stations, buildings, and elevators for private decks & social spaces above the street. Sandblasted tempered glass floors admit daylight to ground level, shelter from rain & snow, and open new outdoor & indoor retail/office levels of old and new buildings. Residents can be relocated to infill or new towers on the walkway system near the station. Supported by buildings or new framework, the structure shown bridges the truck route to the Gowanus Canal up 9th Street.
A green land bridge extends the park to the upper floor of the residential highrise on 9th Street without crossing traffic. Constructed by a mix of public & private funding, city agencies would oversee planning, engineering, and services.
Though mass transit is excellent at this location, MTA needs to restart shelved plans for enclosing this station. New doors through the station’s northeast arch lead to an outdoor platform spanning 4th Avenue with coffee, bike storage, & elevators that will improve handicapped access for MTA. Bikes need to be allowed on any train.
Walks aren’t the only thing in the air; a ramp near the music park leads to the top of the elevated rail line supporting a Class I express bikeway- nonstop views of Brooklyn and Manhattan skylines above Gowanus Canal. The bikeway’s bridge becomes the ceiling for east side station canopies.

For a street worth walking,
1) community gardens that store groundwater in cisterns
2) non-profit warehouse/workshop to donate/take building supplies, furniture for restoration.
3) music park at the former post office, loading dock now farmers market pavilion
4) benches, shelters, lush greenery & lighting, thru-block pedestrian shortcuts along 9th Avenue
5) New York rooftop uses; roof gardens, greenhouses, penthouses
6) NYPD Bike Patrols not patrol cars
7) conversion of auto-supporting jobs (Car repair/rental) to bike jobs
8) local workplaces: conversion of a bare slab to microbusiness start-up that eliminates commuting