Eyes on the Street: DOT’s “Shared Space” Comes to Life by Madison Square

DOT’s reconfiguration of Broadway near Madison Square Park is almost complete. Streetsblog reader Hilda Cohen shared this bird’s-eye view of the pedestrian-priority block taken around noon today.

The project turns Broadway between 25th and 24th streets into a “shared space” with limited vehicular access [PDF]. Instead of a through street for southbound traffic, the block is now a zone where pedestrians take precedence. Direct vehicular access to the block is available, but only to northbound drivers, who are supposed to observe a 5 mph limit. Traffic is very light.

The asphalt roadbed has been resurfaced with epoxy and gravel, creating a single unified space linking the sidewalk and concrete island between Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

The Broadway bike lane, meanwhile, was rerouted around the shared space onto 25th Street and Fifth Avenue. It then picks up on Broadway again and links to the Fifth Avenue bike lane, which will soon be getting physical protection south of 23th Street. Concrete Jersey barriers now separate the block-long contraflow bike lane on 25th Street from car traffic.