Eyes on the Street: A Safer, More Sociable Boulevard Takes Shape

allen_street_improvements.jpg

A reader sends this view of Pike Street, taken from the Manhattan Bridge bike path late last week. You’ll notice the square of light pavement connecting two mall segments. That’s the intersection with Monroe Street, one of four locations slated for pedestrian plazas in DOT’s most recent plan for Pike and Allen Streets [PDF]. A center median protected bike path running from Houston Street down to the water — the first of its kind in New York City, I believe, depending on how you categorize the Sands Street bike path — is also in the works. DOT’s project presentation characterizes these changes as interim
improvements that can help generate support for further funding and
more permanent construction.

The pedestrian and bike improvements on this corridor are the result of a painstaking bottom-up process that Sarah wrote about last September. Residents have been clamoring for safer walking, safer biking, and more welcoming public spaces on Allen and Pike for a long time. Soon, they’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of more humane streets. (We have a request in with DOT to find out when the project will wrap up.)

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