Ped, Bike, & Bus: Transforming NYC Streets
This 6-minute video looks at how New York City streets have changed after a mere three years of planning. Pedestrian plazas, bike lanes, and bus rapid transit are the major projects highlighted, and the improvements to economy, health, and happiness
EMBARQ (the World Resources Institute's Center for Sustainable Transport) "gives a great overview of the change happening in New York. It includes comments from the city's trailblazing transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg" as well as Streetsblog's founding editor, Aaron Naparstek.
Mayor Bloomberg: "We have increased life expectancy by 1 year, 7 months due in part to reduced traffic fatalities".
Janette Sadik-Khan: "Once you realize that you can use your street to improve the quality of life, the economic and environmental health of your city, that is a transformative moment... You don't have to be a big city like NY to be able to make changes that matter".
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more than 3 years of planning
It is completely inaccurate to claim "New York City streets have changed after a mere three years of planning." Planning for many of these projects began several years earlier.
A change in leadership brought many of these projects off the drawing board, and implementation moved along quickly.
But the results people are seeing today represent more planning than what was done in "a mere three years."
NYC's Livable Streets Are Linked to 2007 PlaNYC
Yes - 3 years does sound like an incredibly SHORT period of time - but I got that from the video. I do clearly recall, within the first minute of the video, both Mayor Bloomberg and Janet Sadik-Khan clearly associate the street changes to PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York, which, as you may recall, was unveiled on Earth Day, 2010.
But thanks for the challenge - I would be interested in reading how or when the plans got off to an earlier start. It does appear that they were part of a 2007 larger plan to make the city greener, though.
Irvin Dawid, Palo Alto, CA
Madison Square under development since 2001
I was working on the pedestrian enhancements to Madison Square as an intern in 2001-2002. Many of these projects were under development for quite some time using CMAQ funding.
PlaNYC provided a clear mandate to aggressively implement projects, and certainly accelerated their planning. Much of the planning itself, however, had been ongoing long before PlaNYC.
I don't want anyone to lack an appreciation for the amount of planning that has gone into these projects, or to expect that political leadership alone can achieve similar results in such a short time frame.
Madison Sq.?
Point well taken - I'm sure that there was planning for these projects before 2007. Just a question - could you explain the Madison Sq ped improvements as I don't think they are mentioned in the livable streets program. I do recall seeing enormous street improvements at nearby Greeley Sq. though.
Irvin Dawid, Palo Alto, CA
Link to Madison Square improvements
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/madisonsq_gallery.pdf
Madison Sq = 23rd St./Brdwy/5th AV
To non-NYers, I believe 'Madison Sq.' refers to Madison Sq. Garden! (or area around Penn Station)....My mistake.
MADISON SQUARE PEDESTRIAN PROJECT (includes other projects as well)
Irvin Dawid, Palo Alto, CA
Madison Square Garden
The first and second Madison Square Garden buildings were on Madison Square. The second was designed by Stanford White (of the famous neo-classical design firm, McKim, Mead, and White), who was murdered in the garden's rooftop restaurant by the husband of a woman he was having an affair with.
A beautiful building that was demolished after only 35 years, which you can see at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Square_Garden_%281890%29
Charles Siegel