Urban Design

Not to steal anyone's thunder, but the MTA has rolled out the second of three prototype grates designed to keep stormwater out of the subways while doubling as street furniture. The first design, though incorporating a bench, is more artful and less functional than the prototype shown above, which includes seating as well as bike racks. Fifteen of the bench/bike rack prototypes will be coming to Lower Manhattan, along West Broadway between Chambers and Leonard Streets, and on Varick Street between Leonard and Franklin.

Last Saturday, the opening of the Design Trust for Public Space's "Reinventing Grand Army Plaza" exhibit quickly transformed the plaza, normally devoid of any street life, into a vibrant public space. Visitors were welcomed with live music, a dance performance, food and exhibition tours. This photo set on Flickr has over 400 shots from Saturday's event. City Room reports:

Mayor Bloomberg and DOT Commish Janette Sadik-Khan will be officially unveiling public space improvements to Madison Square at 11:00 this morning, on 23rd St. between Broadway and Fifth Ave.

SustainLane, known for its ranking of greenest US cities, is looking for short essays on sustainable urban living. Here are a few ideas from the contest guidelines:  

Projects like Broadway Boulevard are intended, in part, to reduce auto-pedestrian conflicts.

From a tipster comes this story of what happens when a cyclist tries to conduct business using the "vehicles only" windows at the Commerce Bank branch on Prospect Park Southwest at Park Circle.

Remember the Alamo? That's the public sculpture (AKA "The Cube") located on a pedestrian island in the middle of Manhattan's Astor Place. It's a decent landmark for meeting up with a friend, but it always looks forlorn out there with lanes of traffic moving by on every side, a constant reminder that huge swaths of Astor Place and its environs can be reclaimed from vehicles and put to better use.

From today's Crain's Insider: