Public Space
Streetsblog Basics
Eyes on the Street: Union Square’s Public Space Makeover Underway
Reader Holly Hudson sends this picture of the north side of Union Square earlier today. Orange construction barrels are lined up here and around the corner on Broadway, as crews get ready to add new pedestrian spaces and extend Broadway's protected bike lane, which will run against the flow of traffic on this particular block.
September 1, 2010
DOT Proposes Safety Fixes to Help People Reach Harlem River Park
One of the biggest planning stories of the last decade is undoubtedly the opening of the New York City waterfront to the public. Across much of the city, however, the automobile still occupies the prime waterfront spaces.
August 20, 2010
The Hudson River Park Bike Seizure: Why’d They Do It?
Last Saturday, ten cyclists returned to where they had parked their bikes in Hudson River Park to find them gone. They had been attached to a railing along the river and, as reported in Gothamist, confiscated by the park.
August 18, 2010
DOT Unveils New “Pop Up Café” in Financial District
The narrow streets of Lower Manhattan date back centuries and pose a set of challenges nearly unique in New York City. With the city's first "pop-up café," DOT is testing out a solution to one of those challenges: the lack of public space caused by cramped sidewalks.
August 12, 2010
Copenhagen’s Car-Free Streets and Slow-Speed Zones
In Copenhagen, you never have to travel very far to see a beautiful
public space or car-free street packed with people soaking up the day.
In fact, since the early 1960s, 18 parking lots in the downtown area
have been converted into public spaces for playing, meeting, and
generally just doing things that human beings enjoy doing. If you're
hungry, there are over 7,500 cafe seats in the city.
August 4, 2010
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
Final Deal on New Domino Locks in Parking, Adds Shuttle Buses
The New Domino development slated for the Williamsburg waterfront passed the City Council's land use committee yesterday in a unanimous vote, thanks to a last-minute deal between the developer and project critics. Under that agreement, the project's tallest towers will shrink from 40 stories to 34, though the total number of units will remain the same. The project is now expected to sail through the remainder of the approval process.
June 30, 2010
“Our Cities Ourselves”: Imagining the Future of Urban Transport
Today, Manhattan's AIA Center for Architecture debuted an exhibition that envisions a new era of sustainable mobility. For "Our Cities Ourselves," the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy invited architects to take on the evolving transportation needs of the world's cities, which in two decades are expected to be home to 60 percent of the global population.
June 24, 2010