Streetsblog Capitol Hill

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Proposed changes

Here's a look at the proposal the DOT gave to Brooklyn's Community Board 6 on March 29th regarding safety improvements at Grand Army Plaza. The plan's highlights include:

• Three new concrete islands (5,900 square feet)
• 2,300 square feet of new landscaping
• Removing a travel lane on Eastern Parkway
• Providing a Class 1 bike facility through Grand Army Plaza
• Five new crosswalks providing access to Prospect Park and the Arch
• Eliminating auto lane east of the arch.

According to Michael Cairl, chair of the Gowanus Community Stakeholder Group, the Class 1 bike lane would be one-way eastbound, with westbound (park-bound) cyclists from Eastern Parkway either using the Plaza Street bike lane or dismounting and using the new crosswalks to cross. DOT also announced at the meeting that reconstruction of the Eastern Parkway median from Plaza Street to Washington Avenue would start later this year and would include a bike lane.

Cairl's organization is a member of the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, which recently organized a community workshop to re-envision the plaza. StreetFilms was there. He called the proposed improvements "an interesting first step." 

Please note: This was an April Fool's Day post...

Dr. Thomas Frieden accepting his new job as DOT commissioner this morning in Central Park.

In a major restructuring of the Bloomberg Administration, outgoing Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall will be replaced by Public Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. Bloomberg's surprise announcement came at a rare Sunday morning press conference, where the mayor also rolled out a major piece of his 2030 Sustainability plan for reducing congestion.

After thanking Weinshall for her efforts, Bloomberg set forth his vision for New York's new Transportation Commissioner. "Today begins a new day, when we look at our streets differently, when we see the inextricable link between public health and and the public realm, when we choose clean air and quality of life over congestion. What I started on Friday with my veto of the pedicab cap will continue through the end of my administration. We will free this city from the negative consequences of automobile congestion."

"Driving a single-passenger private motor vehicle in New York City is about to go the way of smoking in restaurants," Commissioner Frieden said. "I accepted this job because I realized that the best way to achieve many of our public health goals is to reduce New Yorkers' automobile dependence."

Bloomberg went on to announce his support for congestion pricing and said that he would begin taking street space away from private motor vehicles throughout the city to help accelerate his long-stalled Bus Rapid Transit project. Bloomberg named Vision42 founder George Haikalis as DOT Deputy Commissioner and boldly announced that by the end of his term 42nd Street would be transformed into a car-free light rail pedestrian boulevard.

He then introduced Dr. Thomas Frieden as the new DOT chief. "Tom is the natural choice. He has been a remarkable innovator as New York City's Health Commissioner, but he can do more for public health as DOT commissioner than he can in his current position," the mayor said.


Vision 42: One of the many innovative projects now embraced by the Bloomberg Administration

"As we move more people out of automobiles and encourage more people to bike and walk around the city," Dr. Frieden said, "our city's residents will get fitter and healthier. We'll reduce obesity and diabetes rates. Moreover, we will start eliminating the ground-level pollution that causes asthma, lung cancer and other respiratory ailments that plague so many New Yorkers, our children and seniors in particular."

Frieden also pointed to the fact that much of the traffic congestion and pollution was from automobiles merely driving through the city as something he intends to address. "Automobile congestion is not only making our residents sick, it is stymieing New York City's economic development and holding us back from being the greatest city in the world."

The move stunned Livable Streets advocates. Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, was initially very excited about the announcement, but quickly realized the full impact of City Hall suddenly buying in to his entire agenda. "I'm not really sure what TA's mission would be moving forward. I mean, if Frieden's running the show, what are we going to complain about?" He was last seen scratching his head and mumbling something about updating his resume and trying to get a job in the new DOT.

Ken Coughlin, chairman of the Car Free Central Park campaign, reportedly received a call in advance of Frieden's appointment from Dan Doctoroff. "He told me that he's been a big supporter of Car Free Central Park from day one, but just has been waiting for the right moment to announce his support for a total ban on automobiles from entering the park." Coughlin then did three cartwheels in front of City Hall and high-fived several people around him.

Streetsblog will be following this story as it unfolds. Stay tuned and happy April Fools Day.

Below are some excerpts from a fascinating story by John Vidal in last month's Guardian that I haven't seen covered in any American media. As the debate over traffic relief heats up in New York City, take a look at how the demolition of an elevated highway motorway the center of South Korea's capital and the restoration of a river and park in its place shows how taking space away from cars and trucks can lead to less traffic congestion, a better local economy, and a healthier, more livable city. Note how local merchants insisted that tearing down the highway would be a disaster for their businesses.

The Cheonggyecheon River: Before and after.

"The idea was sown in 1999," Hwang says. "We had experienced a strange thing. We had three tunnels in the city and one needed to be shut down. Bizarrely, we found that that car volumes dropped. I thought this was odd. We discovered it was a case of 'Braess paradox', which says that by taking away space in an urban area you can actually increase the flow of traffic, and, by implication, by adding extra capacity to a road network you can reduce overall performance."

There was fierce opposition and protests to begin with from nearby traders, who feared that cars would no longer be able to get there. But other opposition came, unexpectedly from urban planners. "They did not like it," says Hwang. "They always want to build more roads to survive.

"The tearing down of the motorway has had both intended and unexpected effects. As soon as we destroyed the road, the cars just disappeared and drivers changed their habits. A lot of people just gave up their cars. Others found a different way of driving. In some cases, they kept using their cars but changed their routes."

The city had beefed up its bus service and given people options to avoid the motorway, and the effect on the environment was remarkable. Hwang says: "We found that surface temperatures in summer along the restored river were an average 3.6 degrees Centigrade lower than places 400 metres away. The river is now a natural air conditioner, cooling the capital during its long hot summers. Average wind speeds in June this year were 50% higher than the same period last year. It was extraordinary. Also, many birds came back, plus fish, insects and plants. The variety of wildlife has vastly increased since we tore up the road."

The scheme has had a ripple effect, Hwang says. A new mayor has come to office and he is now getting to work on the Han river, an important river that is not at all pedestrian-friendly. He is going to shrink the road space for cars and replace it with pedestrian walkways.

Last week, the verdict of ordinary Seoulians, asked at random what they thought of the development, was overwhelmingly positive. "The city centre is so much cleaner," said Rhoda Chung, a young pharmaceutical worker. "The shopkeepers were arguing against the restoration. but now that they can see the difference they all like it." Soo Chul Kwak, a retired driver, said: "Before, you only heard the traffic, but now you can hear the water."

"I am so proud of what we have done", says Hwang. And so is former mayor Lee, who is now the frontrunner for the presidency -- and known as Mr. Bulldozer.

More before and after photos here and here. Thanks to Andy Wiley-Schwartz for sending in the link.