A forum on traffic in Park Slope and Prospect Park will be coming up on Wednesday, October 15 at 7PM at the Community Bookstore, which is at 143 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. (The issue of banning traffic in the park is a divisive one in the community). Here’s an email about the forum:

All members of the Park Slope community are encouraged to attend a neighborhood forum on Traffic and the following question: Are Thorough-fares for Traffic, or Part of the Residential Landscape? The forum will address: Given that we recognize the multiple uses of our streets, what is necessary, and what simply isn’t working? What abuses are happening, and what Existing Controls could be Activated to Counteract? What New Ideas might be Effective, and how do we Move Forward Together to Make Change?

Judging from response to the first forum, the neighborhood seems to be eager to address the question of who controls the streets: Should thoroughfares which are relatively quiet and one-way therefore be devoted to traffic trying to move quickly, or should those same streets’ residential character dominate? Given numerous recent tragedies, it seems hard to avoid the conclusion that current double-use is not working well. Of particular concern at the moment is Eighth Avenue , so we could well focus on this problem, but with the understanding that Eighth Avenue is an example of the larger problem.

We are reaching out to representatives from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to attend, as well as locally resident Traffic and Urban Planning specialists. Once again, Craig Hammerman will be on hand to guide us through who to appeal to for change, and how.

As ever, the point of this Forum is to draw together all parts of our Community – residents, merchants, landlords, electeds, non-profits, activists, and . . . . you! We aim to engage in productive discussion
addressing issues of mutual concern, and to thus begin finding actual solutions. We believe that by coming together we can help each other and our neighborhood – Which is to say, our Home. What have you got to lose? Please come out, and join the discussion. Who knows? We could even make
Something happen.