Midtown
Streetsblog Basics
DOT to Extend East Side Bike Lanes to 57th, But Mostly With Shared Lanes
The First and Second Avenue bike lanes on Manhattan's East Side will only be extended from 34th Street to 57th Street this year, not up to 125th Street as advanced in a plan that won community board approvals in 2010.
April 28, 2011
Pedestrians, Including Bill Clinton, Breathe Easier in the New Times Square
A new study commissioned by the city finds that air quality in Times Square has notably improved since the 2009 installation of pedestrian plazas on Broadway.
April 13, 2011
Efforts to Close East River Greenway Gap Advance With Feasibility Study
New York took a step forward today in attempts to close the 22 block gap in the East River Esplanade, which forces cyclists into traffic in the ultra-congested heart of Midtown and deprives East Side communities of valuable riverfront open space. Thanks to state and federal funding, including an earmark from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the New York City Economic Development Corporation put out a request for a feasibility study looking at how to build a greenway along the East River between 38th and 60th Streets.
April 12, 2011
Tonight and Thursday: DOT Accepting Public Input on 34th Street Revamp
Just a quick reminder about the NYCDOT open houses for the 34th Street Transitway, to be held today and Thursday. Though the initial plan to make 34th Street more accessible to the vast majority of its users has been compromised considerably, bus riders and pedestrians still have a lot to gain by making their presence felt at these hearings.
March 30, 2011
DOT Presents Scaled-Back Concept for 34th Street
"Consensus" and "process" were the buzzwords last night when NYC DOT presented its new concept for improving transit on 34th Street [PDF]. Gone was the plan for New York's first physically separated busway -- scuttled by local property owners and residents seeking drive-up curbside access. In its place was a package very similar to Select Bus Service on the East Side of Manhattan: bus lanes offset from the curb, off-board fare collection, camera enforcement, and bus bulbs to speed boarding and relieve sidewalk crowding.
March 15, 2011
DOT to Daylight All Left Turns on Lexington Avenue in Midtown
In last year's landmark pedestrian safety study, the Department of Transportation found that three times as many crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve left turns as right turns. To respond to the heightened danger of left-turning vehicles, DOT promised in its action plan to "daylight" all left turns on a major Manhattan avenue, removing parking spaces near the intersection to improve visibility.
March 8, 2011
34th Street Has Changed Before, And It Can Change Again
In the media hyperventilating over plans for 34th Street that led up to last night's cancellation of the pedestrian plaza between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the biggest constant was the fear of change. An editorial in the Observer on Tuesday summed up the strange preference for the status quo: "From river to river, 34th Street moves cars, trucks, buses and pedestrians as efficiently and quickly as humanly possible in one of the world's most crowded pieces of real estate."
March 3, 2011
Despite NY Post Report to Contrary, Stringer Supports BRT for 34th Street
The Post's unhinged crusade against the 34th Street Transitway appears to be bleeding over from the editorial page into news content. The paper ran a story yesterday strongly implying that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer opposes plans for separated bus lanes along 34th Street (headline: "Beep blasts 34th St. plan"), while in reality, Stringer seems to support the basic idea of the plan, urging mainly that DOT proceed with care. Here's Stringer's statement to us, in full:
March 2, 2011
Name-Calling Trumps Facts in the Post’s Attacks on 34th Street Transitway
The New York Post is escalating its coordinated, fantasy-based assault on efforts to make New York a better city for transit, cycling, and walking. Check out the impressive synergies from its opinion pages:
February 28, 2011
With 34th Street Design Due in Spring, CB 6 Is Ready For Busway to Fail
A preliminary design for the proposed 34th Street Transitway is due this spring, DOT said officials at a community board meeting last night.
January 4, 2011