{"id":353168,"date":"2010-02-23T09:55:15","date_gmt":"2010-02-23T14:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dirt.asla.org\/?p=3930"},"modified":"2010-02-23T09:55:15","modified_gmt":"2010-02-23T14:55:15","slug":"the-new-face-of-broadway-new-york-city-to-make-pedestrian-plazas-permanent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/353168","title":{"rendered":"The New Face of Broadway: New York City to Make Pedestrian Plazas Permanent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWould you have ever pictured Times Square to be a place to sit and relax?\u00a0 Well, now you should.\u00a0 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that the city\u2019s eight month pilot project aimed to relieve traffic congestion by closing city streets will be made permanent.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s going to be innovative and sustainable and celebrate the most famous streets in the world,\u201d said the mayor at his Times Square Press Conference. \u201cThe project gives a green light to pedestrians, to mobility, and to safety. The new Broadway is here to stay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broadway, which cuts diagonally across 6th and 7th Avenues, disrupted the city\u2019s street grid system and caused problems with traffic congestion and high accident rates.\u00a0 Since May, cars have been banned from driving on portions of Broadway near Herald Square and Times Square as part of the Mayor\u2019s initiative to re-engineer New York\u2019s street grid to improve traffic conditions and public safety in Midtown Manhattan.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s fair to say that this is one of those things that has succeeded,\u201d Bloomberg said. \u201cNot in every way we thought, but in some ways we hadn\u2019t thought about. Not as much in certain areas, but more than we expected in others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite traffic improvement being moderate compared to expectations, the city deemed the project a success, citing improved public safety statistics and positive feedback from tourists, residents, and local businesses.\u00a0 The New York Times<\/a><\/em> reported that travel times improved by 7 percent\u00a0on average, injuries to drivers and passengers fell by 63 percent, and foot traffic in Times Square grew by 11 percent.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand it\u2019s more than just a minute or two of traffic improvement. It\u2019s about altering the entire Times Square experience\u201d said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to the street closures, pedestrian plazas were created by adding outdoor furniture, painted pavement, and other landscaping to help attract foot traffic by enhancing the cultural experience.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s shifted the paradigm for what a street and sidewalk experience is supposed to be like in New York City,\u201d said Tompkins.<\/p>\n

Now that the experimental project has been made permanent, the city plans to re-design the plazas to make them more aesthetically pleasing.\u00a0 In an announcement last week, Mayor Bloomberg said the city would soon put out bids for short and long-term improvements to the plazas.\u00a0 Janette Sadik-Khan, the city\u2019s Transportation Commissioner said in a recent interview that short-term improvements will be completed this summer and involve furnishing the plazas with new paint, planters, and furniture.\u00a0 The long-term improvement plan will create more permanent structures including public amenities and entertainment infrastructure that can accommodate a variety of events and performances throughout the year. The city has not yet established a timeline for this phase of the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Architect\u2019s Newspaper<\/a><\/em> reported that design proposals would only be accepted from eight \u201clarge firms\u201d in the city\u2019s Design and Construction Excellence Program<\/a>.\u00a0 While this move\u00a0could limit the breadth and creativity of ideas, it stands to vastly speed up the design and construction process, as each of the targeted firms is prequalified for city work.<\/p>\n

This groundbreaking project represents a landmark opportunity in the fields of landscape architecture and urban design.\u00a0 It highlights the fact that cities around the globe are beginning to recognize the environmental, economic, and social benefits of creating\u00a0public open\u00a0space in dense urban areas.<\/p>\n

The new\u00a0changes\u00a0to Times Square\u00a0also fall in line with the city\u2019s recently released Active Design Guidelines<\/a>, which were created to spur public health and combat rising trends in obesity through innovative design strategies.\u00a0 It encourages architects, landscape architects, and urban designers to create healthier buildings, streets, and outdoor spaces which promote active lifestyles and recreation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learn more about the new Active\u00a0Design Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image credit: Damon Winter\/The New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Would you have ever pictured Times Square to be a place to sit and relax?\u00a0 Well, now you should.\u00a0 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that the city\u2019s eight month pilot project aimed to relieve traffic congestion by closing city streets will be made permanent.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s going to be innovative and sustainable and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-353168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}