Flatbush Avenue

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
KML is from Wikidata
Flatbush Avenue
Flatbush Avenue Extension
Looking north from Grand Army Plaza towards the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
Kings Theatre
towards Erasmus Hall

Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the

Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. The north end was extended from Fulton Street to the Manhattan Bridge as "Flatbush Avenue Extension".[2]

Flatbush Avenue, including the extension, is 9.9 miles (15.9 km) long. The avenue is a four-lane street throughout the majority of its run. North of Atlantic Avenue and south of Utica Avenue, it is a six-lane-wide median-divided street.

Effect on street grid

The diagonal path of Flatbush Avenue creates a unique street pattern in every neighborhood it touches. It is the central artery of the borough, carrying traffic to and from

.

Flatbush Avenue is the border of

Park Slope and many other neighborhoods. Other main Brooklyn thoroughfares start at Flatbush Avenue, including Ocean Avenue and Empire Boulevard (both at Willink Plaza), Linden Boulevard, Eastern Parkway
, and Utica Avenue.

History

Prior to European settlement, several Native American trails crossed Brooklyn.[3] These were later widened into "ferry roads" by 17th-century Dutch settlers, since they were used to provide transport to the waterfront. One was the Flatbush Road, running roughly north–south to the east of the path of present-day Flatbush Avenue.[4] The road ran roughly along what is now the eastern edge of Prospect Park and taking advantage of a low point in the Heights of Guan that form the spine of Long Island. A monument beside the former Flatbush Road, now inside the park, commemorates an attempt to block the road at Battle Pass during the Battle of Long Island. For much of the 19th century, it had a plank road run by a turnpike company. Historic homes line the neighborhoods around the avenue, which in the late 1920s was straightened to its current form. Streets such as Amersfort Place that are remnants of old parts of the avenue remain in the city grid as an echo of the past.

Transportation

The majority of Flatbush Avenue is served by the B41 route of MTA Regional Bus Operations, though the Q35 route also serves Flatbush Avenue south of Nostrand Avenue. Several bus routes also use the avenue for shorter stretches.[5] A dedicated bus lane corridor on Flatbush Avenue was proposed in 2022;[6][7] at the time, the B41 route traveled at an average speed of 6.5 miles per hour (10.5 km/h).[8] Work on the bus lanes began in 2024.[9]

The

Nevins Street, respectively.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Google (May 23, 2019). "Flatbush Avenue" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Pollak, Michael (June 18, 2006). "Twain's Magical Mystery Tour". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2007. The Flatbush Avenue extension was built 100 years ago through the 1850s-era Vinegar Hill neighborhood to connect Flatbush Avenue with the anticipated Manhattan Bridge, which opened in 1909.
  3. .
  4. ^ Armbruster, Eugene L. (1919). The Ferry Road on Long Island. G. Quattlander. p. 13. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  5. ^ "Brooklyn Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  6. ^ Paolicelli, Alyssa (August 9, 2022). "Transit advocates rally for better bus service in Brooklyn". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Brachfeld, Ben (August 9, 2022). "Flatbush Avenue bus lane proposal gains support of key electeds". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  8. ^ Liebman, Samantha (December 11, 2023). "City behind on bus lane mandate for second year". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  9. ^ Khalifeh, Ramsey (June 20, 2024). "Dramatic redesign of Flatbush Avenue would add bus lanes to gridlocked Brooklyn street". Gothamist. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.