Public Space

As a candidate for a livable streets makeover, Columbus Avenue is a no-brainer. A block from Central Park, it is home to the American Museum of Natural History and sports a string of active ground floor businesses, but the street itself is a classically car-oriented corridor: three moving lanes sandwiched between two parking lanes. The Columbus Avenue BID has been working with Project for Public Spaces to make the street itself more of a destination -- to create a walkable, transit-oriented "spine" running from the museum to Lincoln Center on Broadway.

The days of the U- and wave-racks are numbered

StreetFilms' Elizabeth Press traveled to Istanbul, Turkey recently, and put together this vid of horrendous traffic conditions and initiatives to take back the streets. Featured in the film is Kevser Üstündag, professor of architecture and World Carfree Network advisor, who discusses transit and car-free Sundays.

Streetsblog received this tip last night:

A rendering in section of NYU's proposal for a pedestrian-only Washington Place, between Washington Square Park and Broadway.

 

Forest City's Atlantic Yards project would create two massive superblocks in Prospect Hts., Brooklyn

The Grand Army Plaza Coalition (GAPCo) and The Design Trust for Public Space have launched a website for their "Ideas Competition" called Reinventing Grand Army Plaza, which is intended to generate new visions for the plaza's design. The jury will award three cash prizes to the winners, and along with other top entries will be exhibited in an outdoor exhibition at Grand Army Plaza later this year.