Mayor Bloomberg, commissioner Sadik-Khan unveil new public space

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Department of Transportation (DOT) commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan recently unveiled 41,700 s/f of new public space at Madison Sq., bringing new, landscaped pedestrian plazas, bicycle lanes and a safer and simpler traffic pattern at Broadway from 25th to 22nd St., one of the largest non-park public space projects undertaken by the Bloomberg Administration. Together with new plazas between Times Sq. and Herald Sq., the projects have converted over 65,000 s/f of former roadbed along Broadway to enhance public life and create a more livable city. The spaces have already filled with pedestrians, tourists, people-watchers and nearby employees and residents enjoying lunch. Citywide, combining all public plazas, medians, bike lanes and other public space projects completed or now in progress, the city has converted 49 acres of former vehicle space for other uses in the last year-an area nearly four times the size of the open space of Central Park's Great Lawn. "We've recently seen the incredible success of 'Summer Streets,' which gave New Yorkers the opportunity to enjoy increased open space," said mayor Bloomberg. The space at Madison Sq. will complement adjacent Madison Sq. Park, providing seating at tables and chairs beneath umbrellas. The work, which started in June, also simplifies the crosscurrents of pedestrians, bicyclists, buses and other vehicles. At the project's center, a significant new plaza in the shape of the Flatiron Building offers over 16,000 s/f of space from which to view one of the world's most photographed landmarks. On Broadway between 22nd and 23rd Sts., the two lanes of roadway adjacent to the Flatiron Building have been made into a plaza furnished with seating and tables. Several other pedestrian spaces were created, enhanced or enlarged, using former roadbed. For bicyclists, the new, high-visibility bicycle lanes on Broadway and Fifth Avenue will bridge former gaps. Pedestrian areas are protected by 170 planters weighing 600 or 1,000 pounds and also 43 roughly-hewn granite blocks. Further uptown, along Broadway between Times Sq. and Herald Sq., DOT recently completed another major pedestrian and plaza project, redesigning the geometry of Broadway from 42nd to 35th Streets and creating new plazas, a protected bike path running along the curbside, and abundant pedestrian space furnished with tables, chairs and benches, and protected by 173 planters.