Pedestrian Infrastructure
Streetsblog Basics
Plaza de Las Americas Reclaims Space for People in Washington Heights
The city broke ground this morning on a new plaza in Washington Heights set to open early next year. The project will transform an extra-wide asphalt block into a permanent public space hosting vendors and a farmers market.
March 20, 2015
Bruckner Boulevard Protected Bikeway Clears Bronx CB 2 Committee
A DOT plan to add pedestrian space and create a two-way protected bikeway along a key half-mile stretch of Bruckner Boulevard received a unanimous thumbs-up from Bronx Community Board 2's economic development committee Wednesday night [PDF].
March 13, 2015
Demonstrators Call for Swift Action From City Hall to Fix Queens Boulevard
When it comes to redesigning Queens Boulevard for safe walking and biking, there's no time to spare. It's a matter of life and death.
March 9, 2015
Levine Stands Up for Riverside Drive Road Diet Under Attack By CB 9
A plan to calm traffic on a speeding-plagued stretch of Riverside Drive in West Harlem would be gutted if Community Board 9 members get their way, but Council Member Mark Levine, who represents the area, wants DOT to move ahead with the safety plan.
March 6, 2015
CB 12 Committee Puts Parking Over Safety in Vote on Uptown Bike Lanes
DOT is proposing significant bicycle and pedestrian upgrades in Washington Heights, but the Manhattan Community Board 12 transportation committee wants to nibble away at a protected bike lane in the plan. The committee voted to support the DOT plan but with modifications that would shrink a proposed protected bike lane on Edgecombe Avenue to preserve parking.
March 5, 2015
What Slow Zone Gateways Could Look Like
We reported yesterday that NYC DOT has moved "gateway signage" at the entrances to 20 mph Slow Zones from the roadbed to the sidewalk because motorists were running over the signs at what the agency calls an "unsustainable rate." With some more resources for traffic calming, the agency could take a different approach: upgrading the temporary signs-and-paint treatment to permanent concrete.
February 5, 2015
DOT’s Slow Zone Signs Now Just Another Sidewalk Obstacle [Updated]
Launched in 2011, the DOT Neighborhood Slow Zone program is intended to keep drivers from exceeding 20 mph in residential areas. Strengthening and expanding the program should be a key aspect of Vision Zero, but instead, DOT has watered down some Slow Zone features, apparently in response to motorist complaints about curbside parking.
February 4, 2015
DUMBO Street Upgrades: Big Curb Expansions + Contraflow Bike Lane
DUMBO, where NYC DOT launched its public plaza program more than seven years ago, is set to get more pedestrian space as the city expands sidewalks and reworks oddly-shaped intersections beneath the Manhattan Bridge. The project also includes a contraflow bike lane to improve connections from DUMBO to the Manhattan Bridge, Jay Street, and Downtown Brooklyn [PDF].
January 28, 2015
“Boulevard 41” Poised to Reclaim Space for People Near Bryant Park
A crowded Midtown block could get more space for people and plantings if adjacent property owners decide to foot the bill.
January 14, 2015
Take a Look and Vote on the New Proposals for a Car-Free 42nd Street
For nearly 15 years, a group of architects and planners who go under the banner of Vision42 have advocated for a car-free 42nd Street with light rail and expanded pedestrian space [PDF]. Hoping to catch the interest of the de Blasio administration, last spring the group launched a competition seeking conceptual designs for a re-imagined 42nd Street. Now the four finalists are up for a public vote.
January 13, 2015