One of Downtown Brooklyn's busiest blocks will become a pedestrian oasis when the city constructs a public plaza at the corner of Hoyt and Schermerhorn streets.

The Department of Transportation is planning to build a 17-foot wide by 70-foot long piazza with seating and bike racks in front of the main entrance to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn train station, giving pedestrians more space to walk in an area where sidewalks are often obstructed by parked police cars.

The plaza will be protected from traffic and new cycling routes on Schermerhorn Street by a row of potted plants.

"This won't just provide some room to breathe on a stretch of sidewalk that is notoriously congested, but it will also taking back some rare public space in Downtown Brooklyn that does little more than sit under cars all day," said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for the cycling and walking advocacy group Transportation Altneratives.

[more at: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/39/32_39_bm_hoyt_pedestrian_plaza.html]