Opening of Coney Island Cycle Path

This bicycle path, in the center of the grand Ocean Parkway, is still in use today. Stretching from Prospect Park to Coney Island, it provided easy access to the beach from the central parts of Brooklyn. Around the turn of the twentieth century, a new type of safer bicycle made biking cheaper and easier and contributed to the widespread use of the bicycle by both men and women for leisure and transportation. The bicycle also became a symbol of free, mobile women and was an important tool for female emancipation. By this time, however, many more railroad lines and large steamships linked Coney Island to the city, enabling larger crowds than ever to spend the weekend at the beach.