This summer, the Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to make the city more pedestrian-friendly. The first project to be implemented will make two blocks on Broadway car-free. The second project, introduced in May, proposes to widen sidewalks along Seventh Avenue from 34th to 42nd Street. A third proposal seeks to establish a protected bike lane on Seventh Avenue from 30th Street to Clarkson Street.

Photo: nyc.gov/DOT

Earlier this month, Broadway restricted vehicular access between 36th and 37th Street as well as 39th and 40th Street. This trial program will run until the end of August, although the city could extend the closures to additional seasons or further expand the project to cover even larger stretches of roadway in the future.

This isn’t the first time Broadway has gone carless. On Earth Day 2017, from Times Square down to Union Square, Broadway was one of several streets across the city to go car-free from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This project is part of Mayor De Blasio’s “Vision Zero” initiative to address increasing citywide congestion, and was coordinated with the help of community partners and businesses. The new public space features furniture, artwork, planters, food vendors and benches.

Photo: nyc.gov/DOT

The Manhattan Community Board 5 publically endorsed the project that would widen sidewalks along Seventh Avenue on May 22nd. Seventh Avenue is one of the most congested areas in New York City, and reducing congestion in Midtown is currently a main focus of the DOT. The proposed changes to Seventh Avenue not only address growing safety concerns for pedestrians, but would positively impact local businesses as well. The proposition would include widening the sidewalk, adding bus boarding islands, adding left turn lanes, installing curb extensions at left turn locations, turning one of the lanes into a flexible lane which would be used for travel during rush hour, as well as loading and off-peak parking hours from 34th Street to 42nd Street. These changes would also bring added parking to the area during off-peak hours.

Photo: nyc.gov/DOT

The third project, which was proposed in April, aims to add a protected bicycle lane on Seventh Avenue. Though certain streets parallel to Seventh Avenue are already protected, Seventh Avenue continues to see a high volume of bicyclists. The project proposes a protected lane between 14th and 23rd Street along with the addition of planted concrete pedestrian islands.

The existing traffic capacity will be able to fit in three lanes, while the bike lane will keep bicyclists safer and reduce the distance pedestrians will have to walk across the street. The lane reduction is also expected to reduce speeding, which will increase pedestrian and biker safety.

While these project initiatives are big steps forward for pedestrians in NYC, it should be noted that these programs can make the permitting process for construction projects in certain areas more difficult. As the permitting procedures enforced by the DOT’s Office of Construction Mitigation and Coordination (OCMC) become more stringent, many construction parties will need to reconsider their filing strategies and handling of logistics.

Milrose works closely with the DOT in order to manage alternative strategies that allow our clients to avoid project delays. If you are interested in receiving our guidance in matters relating to the DOT, please contact us via email at DOT@milrose.com.