The Bloomberg administration has revised its traffic plan for 34th Street and now plans to have cars and trucks travel in two lanes, one east and the other west, with a bus-only lane on either side, according to an article in Saturday's edition of The New York Times by Michael M. Grynbaum.
The plan would eliminate an earlier proposal for concrete barriers that would have separated bus lanes on the street from other vehicular traffic, according to four people briefed on the city's plans who did not want to be identified over concerns that city officials might be angry at them for releasing the information early, the article said.
The new plan, the article continued, is "a stripped-down version of an earlier design, first proposed by the city in 2008, that drew ire from some residents and tabloid columnists." "Other controversial elements of that plan have now also been scrapped, including a pedestrian plaza that would have banned cars and trucks between Herald Square and the Empire State Building. The new proposal calls for buses to travel in exclusive terra cotta-hued lanes, similar to a street design recently installed along First and Second Avenues that has speeded up trips along Manhattan's East Side. But a parking and loading lane would be installed in some places between the bus lanes and the curbside, a concession to residents and business owners concerned that the plan would block automobile access to the front of their buildings," the article said.
"The bus lanes," the article continued, "would be on opposite sides of 34th Street, rather than adjacent to one another, which the original plan called for. The new design is also expected to create more space for parking, loading and deliveries than is found in the street's current configuration."
The proposal comes after a difficult few weeks for Janette Sadik-Khan, the Traffic Commissioner "who has been sued over a bicycle lane in Brooklyn and has been the subject of much criticism over the initial 34th Street plan, which naysayers denounced as a detriment to the street's aesthetic," the article said.
"In the midst of all this hubbub, there has been careful analysis going on behind the scenes,' said Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, adding that 'they have come to a scheme that they believe in, rather than one that's only the product of political compromise.' Mr. Biederman added that he was pleased that cars would be restricted to a single lane in each direction. 'It is not a good thing for Midtown retail to have a screaming four-lane roadway,' Mr. Biederman said. 'It's very un-New York,'" the article continued.
The plan would eliminate an earlier proposal for concrete barriers that would have separated bus lanes on the street from other vehicular traffic, according to four people briefed on the city's plans who did not want to be identified over concerns that city officials might be angry at them for releasing the information early, the article said.
The new plan, the article continued, is "a stripped-down version of an earlier design, first proposed by the city in 2008, that drew ire from some residents and tabloid columnists." "Other controversial elements of that plan have now also been scrapped, including a pedestrian plaza that would have banned cars and trucks between Herald Square and the Empire State Building. The new proposal calls for buses to travel in exclusive terra cotta-hued lanes, similar to a street design recently installed along First and Second Avenues that has speeded up trips along Manhattan's East Side. But a parking and loading lane would be installed in some places between the bus lanes and the curbside, a concession to residents and business owners concerned that the plan would block automobile access to the front of their buildings," the article said.
"The bus lanes," the article continued, "would be on opposite sides of 34th Street, rather than adjacent to one another, which the original plan called for. The new design is also expected to create more space for parking, loading and deliveries than is found in the street's current configuration."
The proposal comes after a difficult few weeks for Janette Sadik-Khan, the Traffic Commissioner "who has been sued over a bicycle lane in Brooklyn and has been the subject of much criticism over the initial 34th Street plan, which naysayers denounced as a detriment to the street's aesthetic," the article said.
"In the midst of all this hubbub, there has been careful analysis going on behind the scenes,' said Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, adding that 'they have come to a scheme that they believe in, rather than one that's only the product of political compromise.' Mr. Biederman added that he was pleased that cars would be restricted to a single lane in each direction. 'It is not a good thing for Midtown retail to have a screaming four-lane roadway,' Mr. Biederman said. 'It's very un-New York,'" the article continued.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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