Discussion: How can the "Main Street of Brooklyn" better connect brownstone neighborhoods to the Brooklyn waterfront?
Even though Atlantic Avenue is the "Main Street of Brooklyn," it is one of the most pedestrian-hostile avenues in New York City. The section from Smith Street to Brooklyn Bridge Park is made dangerous by heavy traffic activity there and acts up a kind of wall that divides rather than links historic neighborhoods. With the city's priority of moving through-traffic on Atlantic Avenue above supporting the social or commercial life of the space, Atlantic Avenue has become even more traffic-infested and dangerous in recent years.
While the recent installation of mid-block crosswalks has helped, more is needed to create intersections that are gateways to the neighborhood, with narrowed roadways, safe crossings, and lively corners. Sidewalks also have huge untapped potential to become the arteries of Brooklyn's community life and lively routes guiding people to its main assets such as the waterfront. Here's how.
Proposal to Transform Atlantic Avenue
Building off of the street dining constructed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we propose permanently making a "double-loaded" sidewalks on the north side of Atlantic Avenue (and some South side sections), to support the growth of a Restaurant local retail Row.
A double-loaded sidewalk is one where there are activations such as seating, kiosks, cafes and sheds and displays of goods on both sides of the pedestrian walkway. This enhances the attractiveness, safety, and prosperity of the space. Double-loading a sidewalk transforms it from a mere connection between point A and B to a destination in and of itself.
Fred Kent
Sidewalks in this area should be widened, some parking eliminated, and vehicle travel lanes narrowed. This would reduce the amount of space dedicated to car uses and increase the amount of space dedicated to uses that enhance community, commercial, and social life. These changes would turn the street into a "boulevard" that would lead up to a gateway to Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Brooklyn Maritime District waterfront.
Atlantic Avenue before Covid-19 (January 2020)
COVID-19 – Outdoor Cafes
Starting in the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created a watershed moment. We quickly learned that there was an alternative vision for streets within each neighborhood, one defined by social and business activity more so than by traffic and parking. Atlantic Avenue quickly transformed into a pedestrian-friendly street and came alive with vibrant activity.
With the cafés, the sidewalk became a kind of pedestrian-friendly "tunnel" where people walked between storefronts and lively outdoor cafes, protected from busy traffic. This change transformed the area into a safe and lively streetscape from Court Street to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
In November 2024, we are back to what we had before... (Shame!)
Now, new city regulations have forced outdoor dining to not only change many of its design features that made it attractive but to be taken down for almost half the year. Outdoor dining will be allowed in the parking lane only seasonally and most roof covers apart from umbrellas are prohibited. With all the new restrictions and added hassle and cost of having to store and rebuild these sheds every few months, it is unclear how many of them will be brought back to Atlantic Avenue next year. It is likely that few will, and that is a great loss because every neighborhood benefits from dining sheds.
Fred Kent
Atlantic Avenue's "Gateway" to Brooklyn Bridge Park & the Brooklyn Waterfront
Another important point to address above Atlantic Avenue is how it connects to the waterfront. As one of the main streets in the area, it should naturally guide people to the area's greatest asset – Brooklyn Bridge Park and the waterfront. Instead, it offers a confusing and unappealing lead-up that takes away from the value of these important places. Instead of highlighting them, it buries them in traffic.
This, what we call, a "Killer intersection" is one of two main gateways into Brooklyn's beautiful waterfront (the other is Fulton Landing), Brooklyn Bridge Park and a future gateway into the Brooklyn Maritime District. Despite this, nothing about its design communicates its importance. Using this street to enter the park feels like using the back door. It is hostile, oversized, dominated by cars and traffic, and gives no indication (or sufficient space) that it is meant to be used by pedestrians. It is just another zone of dysfunctional public space designed to support the car culture that has permeated this historic part of Brooklyn. With the addition of piers 7 - 9, this will certainly become a nightmare for anyone trying too navigate this entire zone.
What's more, the entranceway at this intersection leads to one of the most puzzling parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where there is a notable lack of enjoyable amenities and visitor-friendly uses at its main entrance. It makes you wonder if this place is meant to be visited at all.
Good Examples to Follow
Stavanger, Norway
Norway's waterfronts shine because they are well-connected to surrounding neighborhoods and full of enjoyable amenities that draw people in. Imagine if Atlantic Avenue were terminated in this kind of space, which would connect to both Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Brooklyn Maritime District!
A fjord waterfront makes for a unique waterfront space in Stavanger.
Bergen, Norway
Atlantic Avenue has the potential to be a world famous street because of its beautiful surrounding neighborhoods and its connection to one of the best waterfronts in the US. Instead, it vastly under-delivers on this potential because it is designed mainly as a traffic through-way. If some of the space currently dedicated to cars were transformed into space for pedestrian and business activity, Atlantic Avenue would finally be given the opportunity to shine.
More Resources on Sidewalks
- Amenities - for sidewalks to be attractive places, they need amenities that make them comfortable and pleasant. Amenities include seating, shade, kiosks, bollards, etc.
- Assets - to make sidewalks interesting and appealing, assets can be added for beauty, visual interest, or to communicate something about the community's values– such as fountains, murals, and sculptures.
- Bollards - while bollard help create safer streets by separating car areas from pedestrian areas, they are also serve as triggers for social interaction as people love to sit and chat on and around them.
- Community social hubs - places encouraging neighbors to gather and connect are great for strengthening the community. These places are often on sidewalks, such as benches and outdoor seating for cafés.
- Corners - people's paths cross at the corners. Because they are the places where we stop to cross the street, they are perfect places to add amenities and social infrastructure.
- "Double-Loading" - When both sides of the pedestrian walkway are activated, we call it double-loading. This creates a kind of pedestrian "tunnel" with things to do and see on both sides and a barrier between people and traffic.
- Focal points - Focal points create a sense of visual culmination in a space and attract our attention. They are a great way to communicate a society's values or history, and their presence elevates the experience of being in a public space.
- Food - people love to go and spend time wherever refreshments can be found. If we want people to be drawn to sidewalks, there must be sufficient food and drink options there.
- Intersections - intersections that are overly wide and full of traffic are hostile to pedestrians. They kill social and commercial life in their vicinity and must be avoided, especially in busy pedestrian areas.
- Inside-Out Design (Architecture of Place) - when things normally inside buildings get pulled into the public realm, we call that "inside-out" design.
- Multi-layered destinations - a public place should be designed to be attractive to people of different ages, backgrounds, and interests. This can be done by providing a variety of things to do there so everyone can enjoy themselves.
- Porches/stoops/terraces - In the "inside out" design, the area between the private and public realms is a porch. It is the outdoor area of a business or home where people engage both with the building and the public.
- Promenade/Passeggiata - a sidewalk designed to be comfortable for strolling is similar to a promenade or passeggiata - a street meant for pedestrians.
- Seating - any place where people are expected to spend time needs seating because everyone needs or wants to sit occasionally. Seating is an essential feature of any well-designed public place.
- Shade - nobody enjoys standing in the hot sun. It is both uncomfortable and dangerous. Shade is an essential amenity for places where the sun shines bright. Trees, umbrellas, and awnings can provide it.