Times Praises Bloomberg’s Broadway Plan

By Brad Aaron
Mar 4, 2009

The Times has come out in favor of the upcoming Broadway public space reclamation, recognizing the need for safety improvements along one of New York’s most contested thoroughfares.

From 1998 to 2007, some 700 pedestrians were injured and five were killed in Midtown Manhattan along Broadway, making it one of the more hazardous stretches in the city.

Mr. Bloomberg’s reordering of Broadway might not work for everyone. Taxi drivers are alarmed that it will cut down on fares, and theater owners are, as always, nervous. But with pedestrians in danger and growing complaints that Broadway has become too "crowded," the mayor is right to provide more elbow room for people who give Broadway the life it needs.

Good to know that not every editorial board considers public health and happiness to be "frivolous" boom-time luxuries.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Bloomberg Puts Forward a Bold, Transformative New Vision for Broadway

By Aaron Naparstek | Feb 26, 2009

Before and After: A rendering of a car-free Broadway at 7th Ave., Times Square, looking north. Download a larger image. New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan unveiled plans to pedestrianize a large swath of Broadway in Midtown Manhattan at a small briefing in City Hall this morning. Intended to improve motor vehicle traffic flow, […]

Bloomberg: The Transformation of Broadway Is Here to Stay

By Ben Fried | Feb 11, 2010

There’s no going back. Photo: nanpalmero/Flickr Eight months after New York City changed traffic patterns in midtown Manhattan, transforming Broadway and reclaiming acres of urban space for pedestrian plazas at Times Square and Herald Square, Mayor Bloomberg announced this morning that the trial has proven successful and the changes will be permanent. Streetsblog will post […]

There's so much foot traffic on Seventh Avenue outside Penn Station that people routinely walk in car lanes. Image: Streetfilms

This Week: More Space for Walking on 7th Avenue and Broadway in Midtown

By Streetsblog | May 22, 2017

This evening DOT will present a plan to make more room for people walking on Seventh Avenue by widening the sidewalk on the west side of the street from Times Square to Penn Station. Also on the agenda -- a summer trial for making five blocks of Broadway car-free south of Times Square.

Bloomberg, Sadik-Khan Commit to a World-Class, 21st Century Broadway

By Ben Fried | Feb 11, 2010

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, and leaders from the Midtown business community announced this morning that the new public spaces along Broadway will become permanent features of the city’s landscape now that an eight-month trial period has ended. The city will seek to build on the trial project’s success by […]

DOT Sets Construction Timeline for Permanent Ped-Friendly Times Square

By Brad Aaron | Mar 4, 2010

Think you can top this? Photo: berk2804/Flickr DOT yesterday announced a competition for temporary designs to "refresh" Times Square while the agency develops plans for permanent pedestrian plazas. According to a media release, the design phase for the permanent plazas will run for about the next 18 months, with construction set to begin in 2012. […]

The western sidewalk will be extended with an epoxy-and-gravel surface, protected by granite blocks and planters. Bus stops will have raised boarding islands. Image: NYC DOT

DOT to Widen Sidewalks on 7th Avenue Between Penn Station and Times Square

By David Meyer | May 23, 2017

Midtown sidewalks are notoriously too skinny to handle the huge numbers of people on foot near Penn Station. The pedestrian crush around the nation's busiest transit hub routinely flows beyond the boundaries of the curb, and people are forced to walk in car lanes. It's uncomfortable, stressful, and dangerous. But people on foot will soon have some breathing room.