Plazas
Streetsblog Basics
Fordham Plaza Overhaul Promises Big Improvements for Pedestrians
Fordham Plaza, one of the city's busiest transit and retail hubs, but also one of its most dangerous, is slated for a major redesign [PDF] by NYCDOT and the Economic Development Corporation. Highlights of the badly-needed overhaul include a massive increase in public space, a slew of safety improvements for pedestrians, and a block-long bus- and bike-only street.
August 3, 2010
Manhattan CB 5 Listens to Reason, Endorses Union Square Plan
After some vocal complaints spurred compromises to NYCDOT's ambitious original proposal to redesign the streets near Union Square, Manhattan Community Board 5 held strong last night, voting 24-1-1 to move forward with the fundamental safety features of the plan. Rather than cave to the most belligerent core of anti-bike residents and NIMBY businesses, the board actually strengthened its resolve in the face of irrational and uncompromising opposition.
July 9, 2010
With 34th Street Plaza in Doubt, Local Business Group Expresses Support
Earlier this week, DNAinfo reported that NYCDOT may nix the pedestrian plaza in the agency's ambitious proposal for a 34th Street busway. But support for more pedestrian space between Fifth and Sixth Avenues remains strong in certain quarters. The head of the 34th Street Partnership, a group representing local businesses, supports the principle of adding pedestrian space on 34th. After all, most people using the street are on foot.
July 1, 2010
DOT Compromises, to a Point, on Union Square Plan
It took a few tries, but the Department of Transportation finally won the support of Manhattan Community Board 5's Transportation Committee for its Union Square bike-ped plan last night. While a few safety improvements were sacrificed to local objections, the community board rejected calls by a particularly aggressive minority to scrap the centerpieces of the plan, including an extension of Broadway's protected bike lane, a traffic-calming pedestrian plaza, and the conversion of 17th Street into a one-way with a contraflow bike lane.
June 22, 2010
Pedestrian Reclamation on Tap for Deadly Ozone Park Intersection
One of the most dangerous intersections in Queens is slated for a DOT safety makeover. At a meeting of Queens Community Board 10 last Thursday, DOT presented a plan [PDF] to rework the chaotic intersection of Crossbay Boulevard, Woodhaven Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, and Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park by turning two full street blocks into pedestrian plazas and introducing a host of other safety improvements.
June 11, 2010
If Bus Stops Disappear, What Will Happen to All That Space?
Starting June 27, 570 bus stops across New York City could disappear. Unless Congress delivers an 11th hour reprieve -- still a distinct possibility -- service cuts will axe or reroute dozens of bus lines, raising the question of what to do with all the curbside real estate at these potentially defunct stops.
May 26, 2010
Tonight: DOT to Reveal Plans for a Safer Union Square
Safer street conditions and more space for pedestrians and cyclists could soon be coming to Union Square under a plan to be unveiled by DOT today.
April 26, 2010
A More Democratic Use of Space on 34th Street
This graphic tells you all you need to know about the rationale behind DOT's plans for 34th Street, which are getting some play today in the Times and on Gothamist. DOT displayed it prominently at Wednesday's info session about the project.
April 23, 2010
Do You Walk in NYC? Then You Don’t Matter to CBS2’s Marcia Kramer
No one warps a two-minute segment about New York City pedestrian improvements quite like CBS2 reporter Marcia Kramer.
April 7, 2010
What Should Happen at Myrtle Avenue’s New Plaza? The Public Weighs In
A two-block pedestrian plaza is coming to Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, replacing an underused service road between Grand Avenue and Emerson Place. Last Friday, the local business improvement district unveiled eight potential ideas for the site (check out the BID's Flickr stream to see them all) and asked viewers for their feedback.
February 8, 2010