The Site

The competition site is the intersection of 9th Street and 4th Avenue in the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood of Park Slope. Historically, Fourth Avenue has been a dividing line between industrial Gowanus and residential Park Slope. Ninth Street has served as a connector between the two neighborhoods ever since the 9th St Bridge across the Gowanus Canal became open and free in 1848.

Today the intersection is characterized by lots of asphalt. It is a local truck route, a minor transit hub with subway stops on two corners and several bus lines which stop at the corners. The intersection is on a slope, creating skewed view corridors for all users. Ninth Street is excessively wide and allows motorists to travel at speeds greater than the posted City speed limit of 30 miles per hour. Furthermore, Ninth Street was recently treated with a new bicycle lane that leads people to and from Prospect Park. Though the reasons for placing a bike lane on this street are clear (it is a connector through several Brooklyn neighborhoods from the waterfront to Prospect Park) , the bike lanes have attracted some controversy because of the rampant double-parking that occurs in the neighborhood.

On the Northeast corner, St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church and rectory continues standing since its construction in 1885. On the other corners, mixed-use commercial and residential buildings anchor the inersection. Both 9th St and 4th Avenue are mixed-use corridors, with a mix of low-scale retail, office and residential.

Fourth Avenue has a raised median to separate travel direction for the length of the avenue. At this intersection, the median has been shaved away to create dedicated turning lanes. This is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and is not a safe refuge for pedestrians, particularly the children and elderly, who can not make it across the street in the allotted time.

From an operational standpoint this intersection processes a medium number of pedestrians, a medium number of vehicles and a large number of heavy trucks daily. The peak hours follow standard commuting times. Excess asphalt, land uses and the mix of traffic converging here create unsafe crossings for people on foot and in vehicles, but reveals an incredible opportunity for physical improvement.

Additional information about how this intersection fits into the neighborhood can be found in the History section and the Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming report in the Materials section.