Fourth Avenue (Brooklyn)

Infobox_road
highway_name=Fourth Avenue


length_mi=6.0
length_round=1
length_ref=cite map|publisher=Google Maps|url=http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS232US232&q=from:+E+233rd+St+%4040.895230,+-73.880030+to:+E+233rd+St+%4040.887610,+-73.824680&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl|title=Overview Map of East 233rd Street|accessdate=2007-11-07]
direction_a=north
starting_terminus=Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn
junction=
direction_b=south
ending_terminus=
counties=Kings

Fourth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It stretches for convert|6|mi|km north to south from the triangle intersection created by Atlantic and Flatbush avenues in Downtown Brooklyn, to Shore Road and the Belt Parkway in Bay Ridge.

While southwestern Brooklyn is well served by expressways, Fourth Avenue provides a vital alternative for local traffic as it directly links the neighborhoods of Park Slope Sunset Park and Bay Ridge with Downtown Brooklyn. Traffic signals along the avenue are coordinated to allow for greater travel time between lights in peak direction.

North to south

Fourth Avenue begins at the triangle intersection it forms with Flatbush and Atlantic avenues at the foot of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower and Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn. The avenue extends southbound with six-lanes (three in either direction) and a one-lane wide concrete divider which allows for a left turning lane. The concrete divider is actually part of the ventiliation system for the BMT Fourth Avenue Line which lies directly underneath. While six-lanes are provided, only four-lanes are usually used since the outer two-lanes are used by double-parked vehicles and as a right turning lane.

Park Slope

On its course through Park Slope, Fourth Avenue is home to several condominiums and homes but is dominated by a high percentage of service stations and automotive repair centers.

unset Park

Upon entering Sunset Park, Fourth Avenue passes underneath the Prospect Expressway which carries NY-27 and offers indirect access to it through local side streets. The trend of catering to automotive centers continues until the early 40's where the avenue becomes flanked by large wall-to-wall apartment buildings.

Bay Ridge

After crossing under the Gowanus Expressway viaduct into Bay Ridge, the avenue goes from an arterial boulevard to a four-lane street bordered by four to five storey apartment buildings until it reaches Shore Road and the Belt Parkway under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Brooklyn's actual Church Avenue?

The borough already has a thoroughfare named Church Avenue but the large amount and density of churches located along Fourth Avenue is unrivaled. At Fourth Avenue's intersection with 54th Street in Sunset Park, there are four houses of worship located either directly at the corner of the intesection or within a building of it. Two of the churches stand side by side.

Public transportation

As stated earlier, the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City subway runs the length of Fourth Avenue. Stations are located at Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street, Union Street, Ninth Street, Prospect Avenue, 25th Street, 36th Street, 45th Street, 53rd Street, 59th Street, Bay Ridge Avenue, 77th Street, 86th Street and at Bay Ridge–95th Street.