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Seven Blocks of Broadway to Narrow for Esplanade
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 11, 2008
Modified Jul 11, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 11, 2008
Modified Jul 11, 2008
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Rendering of "Broadway Boulevard" courtesy DOT.
Surprise! Without a formal public announcement, the city has been moving ahead with a $700,000 plan to shrink part of Broadway in midtown from a four-lane to a two-lane street and use the rest of the space for a public esplanade, which the DOT is calling “Broadway Boulevard.” The change will be complete on August 15th, when the east side of Broadway between 42nd Street and Herald Square is turned over to a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway, teeming with cafe tables, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters.
Speaking to the Times, local fashion worker and naysayer Corey Baker predicts that because of their proximity to Broadway traffic, lunchtime diners will “have carbon monoxide in their tuna fish.” But transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan insists that the new Broadway Boulevard, designed by Danish urban planner Jan Gehl, will ease traffic as drivers to eschew that tighter stretch of Broadway for the avenues.
The local business improvement districts will pay for the upkeep of the esplanade, which mainly includes buying and tending to the plants for the planters, which will be the only thing shielding pedestrians from the passing traffic. And not all the men on the street who talked to the Times were as sour as Baker; Andre Fisher, a 54-year-old clothing manufacturer, drew a line in the sand between drivers and sitters: “I think we’ve got enough places for cars and not enough places for people to sit.” To the barricades – er, planters!
Tagged
bike
Broadway Boulevard
cars
esplanade
herald square
lane
pedestrian
Times Square
walkway
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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