Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)

Ocean Parkway
	Ocean Parkway facing north
Maintained by	New York State Department of Transportation and New York City Department of Transportation
Length	5.5 mi (8.9 km)
Restrictions	No commercial vehicles
Location	Brooklyn, New York
South end	Sea Breeze Avenue / Surf Avenue in Brighton Beach
Major; junctions	Belt Parkway in Brighton Beach; NY 27 in Kensington;
North end	Machate Circle in Kensington
	Ocean Parkway
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	New York City Landmark No. 0871
Built	1873–1876
Architect	Frederick Law Olmsted; Calvert Vaux
NRHP reference No.	83001697
NYCL No.	0871
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 8, 1983
Designated NYCL	January 28, 1975

Ocean Parkway is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it was built between 1874 and 1876. Ocean Parkway runs roughly 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north to south from the intersection with Prospect Park (Machate) Circle, at the southwestern corner of Prospect Park, to the Atlantic Ocean waterfront at Brighton Beach. The 4.86-mile-long (7.82 km) section between Church Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) as New York State Route 908H (NY 908H), an unsigned reference route.^[4]

In general, Ocean Parkway is 210 feet (64 m) wide and consists of a main roadway, two landscaped medians, and two service roads. The western median contains the United States' first bike lane, which opened in 1894, while the eastern side of the parkway contained a bridle path until the 1970s. Commercial vehicles are prohibited from Ocean Parkway, and there is limited public transit. Much of the original parkway remains intact, but the section north of Church Avenue was replaced with the Prospect Expressway in the 1950s. The section south of Church Avenue is a New York City scenic landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Olmsted and Vaux designed Ocean Parkway, along with Eastern Parkway, in the 1860s to connect Prospect Park with neighborhoods further afield. The section north of Kings Highway was constructed from 1873 to 1874, while the section south of Kings Highway was constructed in 1876. Over the years, a variety of building styles including single-family homes, mansions, and apartment buildings were developed along the parkway. Ocean Parkway was originally a dirt road but has been modified several times over the years. The boulevard first received a macadam pavement in the 1920s and was renovated in the 1970s. Ocean Parkway was one of Brooklyn's most dangerous roads by the 21st century.

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^ New York State Department of Transportation (January 2012). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2012.

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[2012-tour-bk-4] New York State Department of Transportation (January 2012). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2012.

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