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NYC's Open Streets program will expand to more than 70 schools, officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Aug 29, 2024
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Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Aug 29, 2024
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Kids in, cars out.
That’s the message from the New York City Department of Transportation, which announced a plan on Thursday to create 71 additional Open Streets outside city schools this year.
It’s the largest ever expansion of the program at schools, where cars and buses notoriously cause traffic jams as parents scramble to drop-off and pick-up their children. According to the DOT, the new Open Streets will make those hectic moments easier for parents and safer for kids, while also giving students more space to play and learn outdoors.
Many of the new Open Streets will be outside schools in underserved communities in the outer boroughs, with 12 in the Bronx, 12 in Brooklyn, and 20 in Queens.
A full list of the new and old locations can be found on the DOT’s website.
“We’re seeing something beautiful on these Open Streets next to schools — kids, parents, caregivers, and teachers talking with each other, laughing, running through an obstacle course, even reading a book, all together on the street,” said Leslie Davol, Executive Director of Street Lab, in a prepared statement.
Street Lab is one of the neighborhood-based organizations that partnered with the DOT to facilitate the Open Streets program by securing permits, planning with schools and bringing furniture, activities and people to the new spaces.
The Open Streets program started during the pandemic and was codified in the spring of 2024.
Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the agency has “created a new framework to give this space back to our school children to safely learn, develop new skills, and make pick-ups and drop-offs much easier for parents and guardians.”
Not all of the new streets selected for the program will be closed all day. Participating schools will be allowed to temporarily close the streets to cars during drop-off and pick-up, recess and outdoor learning, according to the DOT.
DOT recently committed $30 million to create and sustain public spaces like plazas and Open Streets, through the city’s Public Space Equity Program (PSEP). In 2025, in addition to those resources, the DOT said it will offer funding to schools directly for the first time to help them maintain and manage their Open Streets.
Applications for 2025 Open Streets will open in October and will include further details about how schools can apply for and receive funding, according to the agency.
“This is about more than changing streets, it is about giving people the feeling of walking out the school doors into a public space that feels safer, healthier, and more connected,” Davol said. “We’ve had a flood of requests from more schools that want to start an Open Street, and we’re aiming to work with as many as we can.”
Tagged
education
traffic
public safety
schools
open streets
transportation
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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