Flatbush Avenue's bold redesign promises faster buses and wider sidewalks by fall

The project will build two-way bus lanes in the middle of the avenue, where cars will be barred from driving 24 hours a day. Six large concrete islands for riders to board and get off buses will also be added to the street, along with wider sidewalks for pedestrians at intersections.

The work is slated to be finished in the fall, and the city transportation department has warned drivers to avoid the area while construction is underway. Once completed, officials said, it will help fix a bottleneck that's long been a bane for Brooklyn bus riders.

But it's just the first step Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration is taking to improve bus commutes along Flatbush Avenue. Earlier this month, the mayor announced a plan to redesign Grand Army Plaza by redirecting car traffic to create a unified pedestrian plaza between Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch and Prospect Park.

The city transportation department in 2023 laid out plans to install bus lanes on the avenue all the way down to Kings Plaza in South Brooklyn, but those efforts were shelved under then-Mayor Eric Adams.