Broadway

Streets of broadway

• Broadway is the proud spine

of manhattan and it is more

of a thoroughfare than a

street. Its 20 MAJOR

INTERSECTIONS are some of

the most PEDESTRIAN

UNFRIENDLY places in the

city.

• BROADWAY runs diagonally through the street grid in

MANHATTAN, creating both irregular intersections and

room for world-class public spaces

• PEDESTRIAN PROBLEMS:

too many pedestrians were forced

onto too little sidewalk

resulted in an unpleasant

environment for working and

shopping

Pedestrian zones disconnected at

left-turn bays

pedestrians unsafely walking on the

roadbed.

GENERAL ISSUES:

• Broadway was congested with vehicles

that were forced to idle as it

converged with CONGESTED

AVENUES

Currently pedestrians must

look out for motorists

approaching from different

directions simultaneously

QUANTITATIVE GOALS :

• 30% reduction of C02 emissions

• planting trees

• implementing cycle lanes

• ensuring all citizens are within a 10 minute walk of a public

• open space

• doubling the percentage of cyclist commuters

• reducing traffic related deaths by 50%.

OBJECTIVE : TO CREATE PEOPLE FRIENDLY URBAN ENVIRONMENT .

• Changes has to be made to roughly 2.3 miles of Broadway, from Union

Square at 14th Street, north past Madison Square Park, Herald Square, and

Times Square, all the way to Columbus Circle at 59th Street.

• One of the most dramatic changes to the corridor, Broadway was completely

closed to vehicle traffic at Times Square and Herald Square, which created

room for new pedestrian plazas and spaces,

access and comfort

2

Phase A: 15 secs

Phase B: 28 secs

Phase C: 15 secs Phase D: 32 secs

• Very short time allocated

for pedestrian crossing

• Trip may take as long as

1 minute 45 seconds

• Unsafe conditions for

pedestrians

• Pedestrians crossing

in Broadway during

phase when they see

a gap

Phase A: 43 secs Phase B: 15 secs Phase C: 32 secs

• INTERSECTIONS SIMPLIFIED by closing some or all of Broadway to

motorized traffic where it intersects other avenues, and creating

or altering pedestrian crossing signal phases.

• PEDESTRIAN PLAZAS WITH STREET FURNITURE CREATED at Times

Square, Herald Square, and Madison Square Park.

• BIKE LANES ADDED that are in many places separated from vehicular

traffic.

• Two moving and two parking lanes with an on-street bike lane

reconfigured to create one moving and two parking lanes with a

median-protected bike lane on Broadway.

• Signals need to be

Installed

• Pedestrian bicyclist

conflicts properly

Injuries (2008-2012)

•Zero severe injuries

•52 total injuries, 20 pedestrian

Broadway Left Turns

•Banned from Broadway 7am-7pm prior

1

• East 17th Street converted from a two-way street to a one-way street, with

bike and pedestrian lanes added, separated from traffic by PLANTERS.

• PEDESTRIAN PLAZA CREATED on former street space, by extending the

sidewalk corner at Broadway and East 17th Street where turns were no

longer possible.

• Bike and pedestrian facilities upgraded throughout this section, including

traffic-separated bike lanes and shorter crossing distances at intersections

created by constructing NECKDOWNS AND REFUGE ISLANDS.

• ALL OF BROADWAY - SIGNAL AND TURNING REGULATION CHANGES in order to

optimize traffic flow for new street conditions.

• Cyclists protected by parked vehicles and pedestrian space

Comfort and sociability

Large Planters

• 42” diameter

x 30” tall

– Small Planters

• 34” diameter

x 25” tall

FURNITURE LOCATIONS

More number of pedestrian friendly areas

provided with furniture and shades to

their convenience

AFTER

Increased

seating spots

and increased

safety through

modification of

layout

INCREASED

THE SOCIAL

VALUE of the

street as a

space inviting

more people to

pedestrian use

In certain areas the VEHICULAR TRAFFIC IS COMPLETELY BLOCKED and the street is

converted into a more pedestrian oriented spot supporting the shops and activities

on street sides.

Uses and activities

The lanes next

to the shops

which were

previously used

for traffic has

now been

converted into

place for

pedestrians

thereby

increasing

retail sales

74% of area survey respondents liked the new traffic configuration and 20% of

business owners/managers thought that it had IMPROVED BUSINESS, while none

stated that it adversely affected their business and provided VARIETY OF

FUNCTIONS to happen.

squares of broadway

squares of broadway

Square has a host of

identifiable places, such as

theaters, destination retailers

(such as Toys R Us),

restaurants, and Duffy

Square.

1. Times square

2. Herald square / Greeley square

3. Madison square

4. Union square

CORNERS are bulging with pedestrians waiting to cross north-south, but

destinations, activities and amenities that could pull them away from the Bowtie and

into the surrounding district are either poorly placed or non-existent.

• Square’s LACK OF

AMENITIES and

infrastructure for

pedestrians make stationary

activity uncomfortable.

• A healthy public space usually has at

least 60% woman participating in

stationary activity

• This breakdown suggests that much of

Times square is not a very com fortable

place to spend time

• 13.1% of New Yorkers are

over age 65 but only 4% are

found engaged in stationary

activity in Times Square

Less inviting to all.

Many storefronts in

times square lack the

transparency and

interest to provide a

vibrant ground-floor

experience that is

consistent throughout

the district.

• Point to point travel times improved by 17% in northbound trips in West

Midtown, and 8% in East Midtown. East and West Midtown southbound times

improved 3% and slowed 2% respectively, whereas crosstown trips showed

westbound improvements of 9% and 7% in East and West Midtown and

eastbound improvements of 5% and 2% in East and West Midtown.

• Motorist and passenger injuries decreased by 63%

• Pedestrian injuries decreased 35%.

• Pedestrian volumes increased by 11% in Times Square and 6% in Herald

Square, and the pedestrians in those locations lingered longer.

• Pedestrians entered travel lanes less, as the project provides sufficient

sidewalk and plaza space.

• Vehicles speeding over the 30 MPH limit declined from 28% to 12% of all

vehicles on Broadway between 19th and 20th streets.

• Bicycle volumes increased 16% on weekdays and 33% on weekends.

OUTCOMES