COURIER L 4 IFE, FEBRUARY 14-20, 2020
Building bridges
City competition aims to redesign
notoriously-packed Brooklyn Bridge
The city launched a competition to redesign the bridge’s walkway. Photo by Amalia Arms
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The city launched an international
competition to redesign the Brooklyn
Bridge’s notoriously overcrowded
walkway on Tuesday.
City Council and the urban design
advocacy non-profi t Van Alen Institute
set up the contest seeking submissions
from people to revamp the pathway
across Brooklyn’s namesake span,
which is frequently over-crowded with
tourists, commuters, and cyclists.
The contest, dubbed “Reimagining
Brooklyn Bridge” calls for submissions
by April 5, which a nine-member
jury will evaluate.
The brief is for a new and unconventional
design that makes the crossing
safer and more accessible, better
for the environment, and safe, while
respecting the iconic bridge’s landmark
status and accommodating commuters,
visitors, and vendors.
The path is currently divided in
half , with pedestrians on one side and
a two-way bike lane on the other, and it
is regularly swamped by tourists, who
make a bad habit of congesting both
sides of the promenade, according to
one Crown Heights resident crossing
the bridge Tuesday afternoon.
“Right now the traffi c isn’t that bad
because of the weather, but in the summertime
it’s atrocious,” said Monica
LeBron.
A handful of small three-wheeled
mini police patrol cars frequently take
up at least one of the lanes too.
As a result, commuters are forced
to come up with creative solutions to
get through the squeeze, including one
biker who sang his way through the
crowd.
One Midwood commuter said he
had several accidents while crossing
the bridge on his bike, injuring his
head and fracturing his hand in the
process.
“The Brooklyn Bridge was the most
dangerous part of my commute,” said
Glen Stephens.
Stephens said there should be some
sort of barrier between pedestrians
and bikers to prevent further collisions.
Contestants should focus on the
walkway but can also include recommendations
for the two roadways
fl anking the boardwalk along with
nearby public spaces.
The jury will pick six fi nalists —
three aged 22 years or older, each of
whom will receive $13,000, and three
21 years or younger, each of whom will
get $3,000.
The jurors includes conservationists,
architects, transportation
advocates, an architecture student,
a Manhattan district leader, the
president of the Downtown Brooklyn
business boosting group Downtown
Brooklyn Partnership, and the
editor of the news site Curbed NY,
Amy Plitt.
The fi nalists will work with Van
Alen and Council to further develop
their ideas for two months and will
present their proposals at a public
event in mid-July and the public
will help choose one winner for both
the younger and the older fi nalists
through an online vote.
If you’re interested in submitting a
proposal please upload it here by 11:59
pm Eastern Time on Sunday, April 5,
2020.
For questions about the contest,
you can reach out to competitions@
vanalen.org by March 6 and responses
will be posted on the organization’s
site the following week.
The city’s Department of Transportation
previously studied expanding
the walkway in 2016 to no avail.
/vanalen.org