Pedestrian Infrastructure

A go-to NIMBY argument against safe street improvements is that bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, and ped refuge islands interfere with emergency responders.

Bartel Pritchard Square, at the southwest corner of Prospect Park, received some tweaks this morning, including new and re-striped crosswalks enhancing access to the central space in the middle of the traffic circle. There are also markings to channel traffic as it enters the square, and the short stretch of bike lane between Prospect Park West and Prospect Park Southwest has been more clearly marked as two-way.

At the beginning of the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ “Designing Cities” conference last week, NYC DOT released new data showing that retail and restaurant sales have tended to increase after streets are redesigned with Select Bus Service, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian plazas. It turns out that there's more information on the way. Last week's document was a teaser for a more comprehensive report due out in the next few months.

Leading transportation policy decision makers from around the country are gathered at NYU today for the National Association of City Transportation Officials' "Designing Cities" conference. It's an exciting moment for livable streets and sustainable transportation, with the people who are implementing a new generation of complete streets, surface transit improvements, public spaces, and parking policies sharing their expertise and helping to spread innovation to other cities.

American cities and towns should get a leg up on using federal funds to make streets safer for biking and walking, thanks to rules enacted yesterday by the Federal Highway Administration.

Yesterday at the Municipal Art Society Summit, three architecture firms -- Foster + Partners, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and WXY architecture + urban design -- unveiled proposals to remake public space in Midtown East, as the Bloomberg administration sets out to rezone the area for taller towers.

Last year, Hilda Cohen, Ali Loxton and their neighbors picked up the pieces of a torpedoed bike lane proposal for Lafayette Avenue, showing DOT and Brooklyn Community Board 2 the community's broad support for safer cycling on the busy street. After 1,400 signatures and countless hours of work, Lafayette Avenue from Fulton Street to Classon Avenue was recently striped with a shared lane for bicyclists.

Late last week, DOT completed the installation of gravel epoxy sidewalk extensions in the Financial District along Broadway and Whitehall Street, from the area surrounding the famous bull statue south to an existing plaza between Pearl and Water streets. The additions feature planters and flex-post to keep drivers out, but no seating.