Winning Designs for Prospect Park Gate
[nggallery id=”51614″ template=galleryview] The Park Slope Civic Council announced yesterday the top three design choices for the 3rd Street entrance to Prospect Park. First place, with the award of $2,000, was given to the “Stone Garden” in which the sliding stones “can be used to prohibit the flow of vehicular traffic yet allowing bicycle and…
[nggallery id=”51614″ template=galleryview] The Park Slope Civic Council announced yesterday the top three design choices for the 3rd Street entrance to Prospect Park. First place, with the award of $2,000, was given to the “Stone Garden” in which the sliding stones “can be used to prohibit the flow of vehicular traffic yet allowing bicycle and pedestrian circulation to percolate through the augmented landscape.” Second place went to a design that emulates a tree grove, using wrought iron as a nod to the fences of Park Slope. The third-place design prominently uses arches in the entryway in an attempt to transform the entrance into a “gateway.” Finally, the fourth-place proposal uses four trees in the entrance to represent the four seasons. Which do you prefer? As Curbed notes, there is no guarantee any designs will actually be built, but the Civic Council says it is still “looking forward to exploring these concepts further for the Third Street entrance to Prospect Park.”
These look ridiculous. There’s nothing wrong with the existing 3rd Street entrance.
Agree with tybur that there are much better things on which to spend money.
The boulders look as though they were hurled by Zod, and I’m not sure how quickly they could be arrayed to permit passage of “emergency vehicles” in an emergency–and if folks can playfully move them about, as they suggest, what would prevent rogue drivers from getting out and doing the same? Not sure I quite get the concept. Anyway, it is jarring and indeed redolent of the “who’s a truck-bomb barrier?” jobbies elsewhere. (Seems like we just got rid of the Mylar boulder sculpture nearby, which I for one do not miss.) The art-nouveauish gate is a bit overwrought; the third one, with lit arches, looks interesting. All of them, unfortunately, take the impact of the panther statues way down, which is a shame. The guy who made the panthers would be spinning in his grave:
http://ayearinthepark.typepad.com/prospect_a_year_in_the_pa/2008/11/cats-and-rocks.html
I’d be surprised if any of them got built, with the huge cost of the new Lakeside Center to absorb.
They’re all pretty lame, and the boulder one is outright stupid for the reasons already provided. Agree with Tybur6: Spend the money on something else.
Ha! Bessie, you’re right. And the rendering even shows how the boulders become street furniture. In this case, a woman sitting with her legs IN the bike lane. I guess that’s why the mother and daughter chose the sidewalk!
They’re not gay, they’re happy because they have this sun-dappled, rock-strewn park entrance. Of course in real life, the bike lane would be causing miles-long traffic backups and someone from PPW would be throwing one of those rocks at the bikers on the sidewalk.
I’m pituring a cyclist being hurled over the handlebars after crashing into one of those boulders while swerving to miss a stroller.
at least the dog is on a damn leash tho. and why do they make everyone in renderings look so gay?
*rob*
You’re so right – and the drawing even shows the bike lane! So why aren’t those two in it?
Also — the stone design looks nice in the rendering, but I’m 120% certain it wouldn’t look that nice in real life… partly because they surrounding surfaces/materials will never be as nice as they are in the rendering.
(And before anyone says anything… YES. It’s VERY stupid they depicted those two bicyclists on the damn *sidewalk*!! Aaargh. I swear half of the “The damn bikers don’t go where they’re supposed to!” sentiment comes from the publication of pictures like this! The other half is from delivery guys.)