BREAKING Poll: Plurality Favors Keeping Prospect Park West Bike Lane As Is
Prospect Park Bike Lane
(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation) Assemblymember Jim Brennan of Brooklyn is out with a poll showing 44 percent of residents favor keeping the two-way, protected bike lane on Prospect Park West in place, 28% favor removing it, and 25% favor altering it to respond to pedestrian and driver concerns.
Brennan said, “I did the poll because I thought it would be helpful to get an accurate read on public opinion about the bike lane from a professional pollster using standard statistical sampling techniques."
The poll in many ways reflects the finding of a survey earlier conducted by City Councilmember Brad Lander, which found three quarters in favor of keeping the bike lane.. We'll have more analysis on this, but here's a summary. (Full poll at end of post)
 48% said it was a change for the better, and 32% said it was a changes for the worse. 20% had no opinion.
 Results break along demographic lines: Younger residents under 50 definitely support the bike lane (59%), while residents over 50 tend to oppose it (44%) rather than support it (36%). Younger residents favor keeping the bike lane as is (57%), while older residents are in favor of changing it (25%) or getting rid of it (39%) instead of keeping it (30%).
* About three quarters of the respondents come from zip code 11215, and one quarter come from 11218. Of residents in 11218, 38% have a negative opinion of the bike lane, while 34% feel it is a change for the better. 52% of the residents in 11215 feel the bike lane is a change for the better, while 30% feel it is a change for the worse.
* People who bike regularly, comprising nearly a third of respondents, support keeping the bike lane as is (62%), as compared with non-bicyclists (32%) and non-bike-owning drivers (27%).
* On the issue of traffic impact, 50% of residents feel that the creation of the bike lane has reduced speeding on Prospect Park West, while a plurality of residents (44%) feel that traffic flow is worse.
*Â Â Most respondents (44%) either felt as safe as they did before, or weren't sure. 33% of all respondents feel less safe crossing Prospect Park West, while 22% feel more safe.
* Nearly two thirds of the survey respondents are constituents of Mr. Brennan who live in Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington. Among that group, 39% are in favor of keeping the bike lane, 31% are in favor of removing it, and 26% are in favor of altering it. 45% of that group felt the change was for the better, 36% felt the change was for the worse, and 19% weren’t sure. 34% felt strongly the change was for the better, and 30% felt strongly the change was for the worse.
Assembly member Brennan hired the Boston-based national polling firm Kiley & Company to conduct the poll of residents in zip code 11215 and the northern half of zip code 11218, including Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington. The firm compiled responses from a random sample of 500 residents from among 25,000 telephone numbers, including both landlines (83%) and cell phones (17%). There was widespread awareness of the changes among respondents (93%). The poll had a margin of error of +/- 4.5%. Subgroups have higher margins of error.
You can see the poll here.
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