Brooklyn's Ocean Parkway – The Oldest Bike Path In America / Upgrades Underway
According to Historic Towns of America, which travels the country visiting and documenting the nation's most historic towns, oldest places and historic firsts, on June 15th, 1894, Ocean Parkway became the first Street in the United States to have a designated bike lane.
The first bike path in America was created by splitting the pedestrian way of Brooklyn's Ocean Parkway.
The Brooklyn's, NY Ocean Parkway bike path is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest bike path in the world. NYC's Parks Department describes Ocean Parkway as the country's first bike path.
Ocean Parkway was designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, who were also responsible for Central Park and Prospect Park. In 1868 land for Ocean Parkway was acquired by the city of Brooklyn.
In 1874 construction of Ocean Parkway began and was completed by 1880. In 1894 the pedestrian path was split to create the first bike path in the United States. To keep up with demand the path was widened in 1896.
The construction of the Ocean Parkway bike path marked a significant milestone in the development of cycling infrastructure in America, paving the way for the creation of bike paths and lanes in cities across the country.
Good news for bikers and pedestrians: Long awaited repairs finally began on the bike path last year.
Bad news: The work only covers a seven block stretch, between Avenue R and Avenue X.
According to Jon Orcutt. The director of advocacy at Bike New York “The rest of Ocean Parkway continues to deteriorate.”
According to Hunter Armstrong, executive director at Brooklyn Greenway Initiative “Hope may be on the horizon.” “Coming in 2025, the city of New York has received a planning grant from the federal government to start re-envisioning Ocean Parkway to improve it as a greenway.” Fingers crossed!
Go Ocean Parkway!!!
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