The Bloomberg Administration is planning significant traffic changes for 34th Street, one of Manhattan's most important cross-town thoroughfares.

The plan goes for banning automobiles on the street between Fifth Avenue and the Avenue of Americas to create a pedestrian plaza between Herald Square and the Emire State Building.

West of the plaza, the plan will make all car traffic flow to the west and east of it all car traffic would move to the east.

Buses would continue to operate in both directions and through the pedestrian plaza but in dedicated lanes separated from passenger cars by a concrete barrier, according to an article by Michael M. Grynbaum in today's edition of The New York Times.

"From the city that has banned cars from broad swaths of Broadway and put picnic tables in Times Square, here comes another great reshaping of New York's streetscape. The Bloomberg administration is moving ahead with what amounts to a radical, river-to-river reimagining of another major corridor: 34th Street, the Midtown thoroughfare that is home to Macy's - and some of the city's most congested traffic," Mr. Grynbaum wrote, adding that a public hearing on the plan was held on Wednesday, and officials from the Transportation Department met with business leaders last week.

The plan, he continued, "was proposed in 2008 by the department, but the drive to put it into effect has recently accelerated. The city completed a study of the proposal in February, and is now preparing the environmental and design reviews. The final design for the plaza and traffic changes is expected in fall 2011, with the street ready for use by the end of 2012. The redesign is expected to cost a minimum of $30 million, and officials said they would continue to tweak the plan based on public reaction and in-house studies."

"It's going to improve the mobility along the corridor," said Janette Sadik-Khan, the city's transportation commissioner. "We expect the bus travel times to improve by up to 35 percent, which is something that up to 33,000 passengers that currently travel cross-town will appreciate." She said that a city study indicated that only one in 10 people travel along 34th Street by car, including taxis; the rest walk or use mass transit. Faster buses would benefit "the majority of the people who are actually using the street."

Unlike 42nd Street, 34th Street does not have a cross-town subway and yet clustered about it are some of the city"s most active centers of activity such as Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, Macy's, the Empire State Building, the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

The city's new plan for 34th Street also calls for sidewalk kiosks for buying bus tickets and electronic devices on buses that could control traffic signals as buses approach intersections.

Iris Steinhardt, a Murray Hill resident who arrived at the public hearing with several residents of her building on East 34th Street, said she was concerned that the planned bus lanes would make it hard to get deliveries.

Commenters on the article at nytimes.com indicated that many questions are unanswered.

Marc from New York, No. 24, said that "Better yet is to produce a cross-town tunnel, linking the Queens tunnel to the Lincoln Tunnel."

P. Ellen of Chicago, No. 30, observed that "Chicago tried something similar with State Street....It was an economic disaster and not aesthetically successful either, other than some interesting pieces of sculpture. It was eventually restored as a full street."

ES of Queens, No. 33, said "The city should create an elevated 'skywalk' expressway on 34th Street above the portion with the heaviest foot traffic. There could be an ADA accessible ramp between 7th Ave. and Broadway, and another East of 5th Ave."

Cool New York, No. 90, suggested extending the plaza westward to Eighth Avenue as "The pedestrian traffic seems more congested west of Herald Square, mostly because of Penn Station."

Community Board 6 will hold a meeting on the plan May 3.