Grand Army Plaza: Monuments and Traffic

From NY1:

Coalition Formed To Make Grand Army Plaza More Pedestrian Friendly
June 02, 2006

Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn is one of the city's great venues, but it's not very people friendly. Now, a number of groups are coming together to try to change that. NY1's Milanee Kapadia filed this report.

Grand Army Plaza, the gateway to Prospect Park, is adjacent to the Brooklyn Public Library, and the juncture of the borough's major roadways; Prospect Park West, Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway.

But pedestrians say getting to the Brooklyn landmark is no cakewalk.

"It's definitely a nuisance, and it can be scary if you try to cut any corners and cross the street in a different place,” says Brooklyn resident Tom Brock. “Then it's definitely risky, because there's traffic coming from several different directions."

It took Tom 10 minutes to navigate his way through two crosswalks, traffic lights and a median.

Now, a coalition consisting of community groups, local institutions and elected officials have come together to make Grand Army Plaza less of a roundabout and more an
easily accessible public space.

And may I say HERE! HERE!

Grand Army Plaza is the main gateway to the beautiful Prospect Park. As the article indicates the best way to see it is from a distance or witha telephoto lense. If you want to get closer to the statuary traffic islands, quick feet and nerves of steel are recommended.

Truly a landmark in the borough it is crowned by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch, Brooklyn’s own Arc de Triomphe.