DOT's sketches for the proposed redesign
Many more people will soon get their chance to be on Broadway. In a bold and exciting development, Janette Sadik-Kahn, the head of NYC DOT, announced that the city will close several sections of Broadway to car traffic as early as May. The street closures will be filled with tables, seating and other pedestrian amenities from 47-42nd St., and from 35-33rd St. The public space improvements are being billed as an experiment that, if deemed successful, will become permanent.
From the NYCSR exhibit, click for larger image
PPS and its partners in the New York City Streets Renaissance have advocated for a similarly bold vision for Broadway, one of the biggest opportunties for public space improvement in NYC. The concept of Broadway being built around destinations was something we originally introduced in the NYCSR exhibit in 2006, as well as in PPS’s New York City commentary. During the exhibit, we also held a panel discussion with a number of local visionaries including representatives from the 34th St. Partnership, and the Times Square Alliance. The Times Square Alliance subsequently hired PPS to perform the groundwork and initial visioning for today’s plan.
More information:
Streetsblog: The Great Pedestrian Way: First Look at the Car-Free Broadway Plan
NYT: Mayor Plans to Close Parts of Broadway to Traffic
[...] Vice President Steve Davies’ commentary on the new pedestrian improvements coming soon to Broadway was featured on the “Room for Debate” blog on the New York [...]
[...] Plaza and Madison Square. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced plans to reclaim vast stretches of Broadway through Times Square and Herald Square which realizes dreams set early in the campaign. Look out [...]
[...] Vice President Steve Davies’ commentary on the new pedestrian improvements coming soon to Broadway was featured on the “Room for Debate” blog on the New York [...]
[...] http://www2.pps.org/rss-support/images/openacs_logo_rss.gif Places In the News [...]
[...] as the NYC Plaza Program, through which the DOT has reclaimed prominent public spaces including Times Square and various plazas throughout the Meatpacking District from vehicles to enhance the pedestrian [...]
[...] to NYC streets in a few short years. The campaign’s latest victory was recently announced — NYC’s Broadway has been shrunk two lanes for gardens, seating, and bike lanes. This bold paradigm shift may pave the way for pedestrian-friendly planning policies in major [...]