Pedestrian Infrastructure
Streetsblog Basics
Tonight: Important Complete Streets Meetings in Manhattan and Queens
Tonight's a big night for livable streets events, with community board meetings on proposals for Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, and Long Island City. Plus, join Streetsblog at ARTCRANK if you're looking for some fun.
September 4, 2014
Eyes on the Street: A Super-Sized Pedestrian Island on Bushwick Avenue
Once an extra-wide asphalt expanse, a section of Bushwick Avenue has been reclaimed by the addition of a pedestrian island. The new public space, which makes it easier to cross between Brooklyn Latin School and the Bushwick Library, is joined by smaller changes to an adjacent stretch of Bushwick Avenue installed this spring and summer.
September 2, 2014
Planning For Growth and Safer Streets at Bronx Metro-North Stations
Once the MTA's East Side Access project is finally complete, a few additional upgrades will allow Metro-North's New Haven Line trains to stop at new stations in the East Bronx and cross the Hell Gate Bridge before heading to Penn Station. The Bronx is also expected to grow faster than any other borough in the coming years. With both factors in mind, the Department of City Planning has released a new report on the potential for transit-oriented development at Metro-North stations in the Bronx.
August 28, 2014
“Is It Really The Parking?”: Ozone Park Merchants Spar With Plaza Supporters
A new episode in a long-running conflict has cropped up in Ozone Park: A community group worked with the city to install a pedestrian plaza, but merchants, blaming poor sales on changes to traffic patterns, parking, and plaza upkeep, want the public space removed. A special forum hosted last Thursday by Queens Community Board 10 and DOT gave the two sides a chance to air their views in advance of potential changes. But plaza supporters say the merchants themselves are part of the problem.
August 25, 2014
Why It Makes Sense to Add Biking and Walking Routes Along Active Rail Lines
This post is part of a series featuring stories and research that will be presented at the Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike/Pro-Place conference September 8-11 in Pittsburgh.
August 18, 2014
Study: People Living Near Biking and Walking Paths Get More Exercise
People who live near safe, high-quality biking and walking infrastructure tend to get more exercise than people who don't, according to a study published last week in the American Journal of Public Health.
July 21, 2014
Bronx Advocates Push for New Pedestrian Plaza in Soundview
Near the intersection of Morrison and Westchester Avenues in Soundview, just a block from the Bronx River Parkway, one block separates a forlorn green triangle from Parque de Los Niños and its well-used benches and baseball diamonds. Now, a local group is hoping to phase in public space upgrades to the area through DOT's plaza program. The first step received support from Community Board 9 last month.
July 15, 2014
Shared Space: The Street Design NYC’s Financial District Was Made For
For people in cars, the Financial District is a slow-speed maze. For everyone else, it is one of the city's most transit-rich destinations. Despite this, most of the street space in the area is devoted to cars.
July 3, 2014
Eyes on the Street: More Pedestrian Space at Deadly UES Intersection
Last September, 16-year-old Renee Thompson was struck and killed by a turning truck driver at the intersection of Third Avenue and 60th Street. Now, the crowded intersection has painted curb extensions on two of the intersection's four corners that shorten crossing distances and tighten turns.
June 24, 2014
New Bronx River Greenway Link Would Remake Asphalt Expanse
After years of inter-agency wrangling, a wide-open intersection in the Bronx is set for a complete redesign that will include a new link in the Bronx River Greenway. The city presented a preliminary design [PDF] to Community Board 6's transportation committee last Thursday. While the plan is a big step forward, it lacks a crosswalk that would make it better for pedestrians.
June 9, 2014