Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
DOT

Big Sidewalk Extensions Coming to Bowling Green

Proposed sidewalk extensions along Whitehall Street would keep pedestrians out of auto traffic. Image: NYC DOT

Pedestrians at the southern-most tip of Manhattan are getting a lot more space to walk, thanks to a DOT proposal [PDF] first reported by DNAinfo last week.

New sidewalk extensions along Whitehall Street, as well as a new plaza at the famous statue of the bull at Bowling Green, will make conditions safer for people walking to the subway, the Staten Island Ferry, or the Battery.

Right now, there's just not enough room for all the pedestrian activity in Lower Manhattan. Along one block of Whitehall, for example, 390 pedestrians walk in the roadway during a single peak hour, according to DOT. Existing sidewalks can't handle the capacity.

Under the DOT plan, sidewalks on both sides of Whitehall would be extended into the street between Broadway and Pearl Street. The extensions would be even larger at intersections in order to shorten crosswalk distances. The effect is a sizable expansion of the pedestrian realm.

The redesign would use paint and flexible delineators, and could be put into effect in as little as two weeks.

DOT also proposes using the same materials to extend the plaza on which the bull stands all the way back to Morris Street, providing space for tourists who currently crowd onto a striped median in the street to take pictures of the statue.

The pedestrian improvements were unanimously approved by Community Board 1's Financial District Committee, according to DNAinfo. Said committee chair Ro Sheffe: "What's not to like?"

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Staten Islanders Fight To Keep Park Car-free

Politicians believe cars will make the park safer, but the opposite is the case.

April 18, 2025

Friday Headlines: Trump’s Revenge Tour Now Includes a Stop at Penn Station

U.S. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy is so eager to own the libs at the MTA that he's now taken himself hostage. Plus other news.

April 18, 2025

Exclusive: Cops Writing 15% of Their Red Light Tix to Cyclists, Who are Just 2% of Road Users

We received data from a Freedom of Information Law request showing that the NYPD is intent on writing red-light tickets to the lightest, slowest-moving vehicles instead of doubling-down on enforcement against 3,000-pound-plus killing machines.

April 18, 2025

OPINION: DOT’s Argument Against Universal Daylighting Has a Fatal Flaw

Hydrant zones and bus stops are not a suitable stand-in for universal daylighting — yet DOT is using them to argue against safety, our contributors write.

April 18, 2025

Helicopter Deaths, Fast and Slow

Choppers harm us. Suddenly but also steadily.

April 17, 2025
See all posts