A 21st Century Plan for
4th Avenue and 9th Street, Brooklyn

The intersection of 4th Avenue and 9th Street in Brooklyn fails pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders. A relic of past planning that overemphasized the car and its requirements, the intersection does not encourage multiple uses and a rich, engaging urban life. While still accommodating motor vehicles, my design transforms inefficiently used space into street elements that will improve the quality of life for Brooklynites who live in or pass through the area.

The inefficiently used spaces include:

• The outside lanes of 4th Avenue, now mostly a double-parking zone

• Excessive intersection space near curbs that allow dangerous, fast, wide turns and parking that blocks sight lines

• On-street parking, which is a space-intensive use that benefits few people

• Left turn bays on 4th Avenue

• Painted buffers on 9th Street

Motorists take advantage of the excessively wide 4th Avenue and long, wide 9th Street as well as big turning radii to drive at unsafe speeds. My design introduces a series of traffic calming features that will make it safer for pedestrian and cyclists and improve the overall atmosphere. For example:

• Chicanes on 9th Street

• Two lanes removed on 4th Avenue to tighten roadway

• 9th Street physically tightened

• Curb extensions pinch roadway at the intersections

• Bold graphics indicate desire lines of pedestrians and cyclists and alert motorists they are in a shared space. Colored lights are embedded in the pavement for nighttime safety

• Blue Ride-Away epoxy marks cycle tracks, bike boxes and paths of desire through intersections

• Brick-colored thermoplastic indicates important pedestrian areas, such as crosswalks and curb extensions

• Red indicates bus lanes

4th Avenue and 9th street is also a heavily used bicycle route that connects Park Slope and Red Hook. My plan significantly improves conditions for bicycling, further encouraging this green mode of transport:

• Protected cycle tracks to protect riders from double-parking, dooring, active bus stops, and heavy truck traffic

• Medians planted with street trees provide an arcade of greenery and shade for the cycle tracks

• Bus stops moved to the cycle track’s street side to avoid conflicts

• Underused curb cuts removed to reduce incursions onto the cycle track

• Directional arrows to discourage wrong-way ridding

• More than 200 bike parking spaces added near transit stop entrances

The plan also works to improve the comfort and efficiency of transport for bus and subway riders:

• New bus lane configuration to discourage illegal parking in stops

• Level boarding platforms

• Bus stop locations adjusted for more efficient service

• Billboard removed from the exterior of the subway platform, which will be floodlit at night to highlight iconic and utilitarian beauty of the structure

• A “living sculpture” of trees growing from planters attached to the subway platform’s exterior creates a visual point of focus

• A sculpture of yellow and green neon tubes to emphasize the structure’s geometry and to provide lighting

• Lightbox signs clearly indicate locations of the subway station and bike parking.

• Improved lighting for sidewalk and bike parking

• Unused dumpster space adjacent to platform transformed into landscaped outdoor vendor area, providing amenities