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World Class Streets:: Remaking New York City's Public Realm
World Class Streets:: Remaking New York City's Public Realm
World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
World Class
www.nyc.gov/dot
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
CONTENTS
53 Acknowledgments
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
In 2007, our Administration launched PlaNYC, our long Finally, it’s no accident that New York City’s merchant Famous images of New York nearly all emphasize the In this report, findings from a Public Space/Public Life
term plan to create a greener, greater New York. One of communities focus heavily on streetscape quality city’s skyline—the high rise metropolis seen from a mile Survey conducted by the world-renowned Gehl
the challenges PlaNYC poses to city agencies is to through their local Business Improvement Districts, distant or 5,000 feet up. Few who attempt to capture Architects/Urban Quality Consultants in Fall, 2007
“re-imagine the City’s public realm”— to develop an urban which we have worked hard to expand and support. For the city’s uniqueness or character in a single frame seek provide the starting point. Following Gehl’s analysis, we
environment that transforms our streets and squares storefront businesses, welcoming, attractive streets can it from the most basic human point of view—that of the lay out the wide range of ambitious programs that
into more people-friendly places. spell the difference between growth and just getting by. pedestrian walking down the street. NYCDOT has set in motion to change the city’s approach
With 6,000 miles of City streets under its manage- Today, our Administration is dramatically extending the Why is this? In a look at Paris, for instance, the and that will allow us to build on New York City’s
ment, the Department of Transportation is on the front streetscape improvements that many organizations have streetscapes of the Champs-Elysees and its central tremendous and ever-present potential.
line of this effort— and it is succeeding in spectacular been able to create locally. pedestrian precincts will surely be featured. A view of
fashion. New York has the most famous streets in the world. Barcelona will inevitably include a street-level Sincerely,
Through new initiatives such as Broadway Boulevard, Now, we’re working to make them the most attractive perspective on Las Ramblas and of its new and re-made
the Public Plaza Program, Coordinated Street Furniture, streets in the world for walking and cycling —and that public squares.
and Summer Streets, we are finding creative new ways other great New York sport, people-watching. Until now, the City has not embraced a broad strategy
to make our streets more attractive to pedestrians and for developing and caring for the public realm—the space
cyclists—and those who wish to sit and relax and soak in Sincerely, between buildings—as an important element of public
the City. This report outlines the challenges we face and policy. Indeed, despite so much change for the better Janette Sadik-Khan
describes the many programs underway that are de- during the city’s renaissance of the past several decades, Commissioner
signed to bring even more life to our World Class Streets. our streetscape remains broadly utilitarian, with little
The business and environmental cases for improving change in appearance or feel from the 1970s.
the quality of our public realm are clear. Streets that help World Class Streets amplifies the look at street design
create and strengthen communities and businesses, in Michael R. Bloomberg in NYCDOT’s Sustainable Streets strategic plan, and will
addition to connecting neighborhoods to one another, are Mayor serve as a companion volume to the new New York City
an essential component of the City’s overall sustainabil- Street Design Manual we will issue in early 2009.
ity strategy. Quality of life policies will enable the City to
continue to grow its economy and retain more residents
as they raise families and grow older, and it will even lead
New Yorkers to spend more of the leisure time in the city.
By attracting and retaining more residents, we will also
help fight climate change. Mass transit- and pedestrian-
oriented cities like New York help reduce suburban
sprawl and the higher levels of carbon emissions that
come with it.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Public Realm/
World Class Street Strategies
Public Realm
projects and design
standards — Weekend pedestrian
and cycling streets
— Public art program
This report is part of an ambitious and far reaching effort to place New
Long Range New Transportation
York at the forefront of urban development. It builds on two previous
Sustainability Plan Policy & Priorities
plans: PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s comprehensive sustainability plan,
and Sustainable Streets, NYCDOT’s strategic plan. While the previous
reports were comprehensive in scope, this document focuses solely on the
NYCDOT public realm strategies listed at right.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Reimagining
the city
Cities are becoming greener
and people-oriented
8
8 9
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World
WorldClass
ClassStreets:
Streets:Remaking
RemakingNew
NewYork
YorkCity’s
City’sPublic
PublicRealm
Realm
New York’s
huge potential
New York streets are spacious enough
to accommodate many users—cars,
pedestrians, cyclists, delivery vehicles,
buses and more. Traditionally, however, the
streets have been designed primarily for
motor vehicle traffic. This policy attracted
an increasing number of vehicles, with
negative effects on congestion and the
overall quality of the public realm.
But New York is a vibrant walking city
with hundreds of major attractions. New
Yorkers will take naturally to additional COMPACT LIVELY AND DIVERSE
public spaces and well-designed, people-
oriented streets. — High density — A vibrant city
Trends in Public 3 4
— High volumes of pedestrians markets, fairs, etc
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
A Walking
(and Bicycling) City
New Yorkers spend a lot of time in the public realm as
a result of the city’s density, which promotes walking,
public transit riding and, increasingly, bicycling.
Improving walking conditions will benefit everyone in
New York City, create more pleasant links between 10 min 20 min
destinations and provide an environment that is
enjoyable as well as functional.
5 min 10 min
10 min 20 min
3 miles/h
Pedestrian traffic
ÈÇKGL ÉÇKGL
ÇÌ ÈÇ
KGJC KGJC 10 min 20 min
10 min 20 min
10 min 20 min
10 min
0m 400 m 800 m 1200 m 1600 m
0 mile 0.25 mile 0.5 mile 0.75 mile 1.0 mile
0m 400 m 800 m 1200 m 1600 m 2000 m 2400 m
0 mile 0.25 mile 0.5 mile 0.75 mile 1.0 mile 1.25 mile 1.5 mile
Calculated Manhattan walking distances shown in minutes. Calculated Manhattan cycling distances shown in minutes.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
In 2007, New York City DOT contracted with Gehl Architects to conduct
public life surveys of selected sites around the city. Gehl Architects/Urban
Quality Consultants is an internationally renowned urban planning and
design firm, and is credited with helping to turn Copenhagen into one of
the most walkable and bikeable cities in the world.
Gehl’s data collectors also assess the quality and condition of outdoor
seating, the quality of paving materials, construction-related impacts and
other qualitative factors that affect the public realm.
Results from the public life survey helped formulate much of the city’s
strategy for improving streets as public spaces, and can serve as a
baseline against which future surveys can be compared.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Data Collection
Locations/Conditions
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
New York City is a world-class walking city. Pedestrian volumes on major streets in
New York exceed those found in cities like London, Sydney, and Copenhagen. Moreover,
high pedestrian volumes are found throughout the city, not just in Manhattan.
One of the most striking findings of this survey is that some main streets in Queens and
the Bronx have greater numbers of pedestrians than the centers of major European cities.
For example, pedestrian volumes on Flushing’s Main Street are about 70% higher than
those found on Regent Street in Central London.
Pedestrian volumes
PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC COMPARISON on Flushing’s Main Times Square, 2007 East Fordham Road, Bronx, 2007 Flushing Main St, Queens, 2007
Copenhagen, Strøget 58,500 2005 Central London. Status: Shopping and entertainment Status: Shopping street and main public Status: Shopping street and main public
street and a north-south vehicular link transportation and vehicular link transportation and vehicular link
London, Regent St 57,320 2002
NEW YORK
Times Square
118,000 2007
(Broadway & 7th Ave at 44th St)
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
turns into a fight to get since people will avoid walking if it is unpleasant to
do so.
from one point to another.
The sidewalks on
East Fordham Road
are overcrowded
54% of the day
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
SPACE ON FLUSHING MAIN STREET Flushing Main Street, Queens between Roosevelt and 41st Ave Pedestrians are pushed into the road when waiting for a green light.
In some locations, only 50% of the sidewalk on Broadway is possible to use for walking.
Sidewalk 16’
0
Obstacles on Sidewalks
Sidewalk 16’ 11’ 11’ 11’ 11’ 11’ 11’ 200cm 400cm 600cm
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Sidewalk Crowding
Affects Public Transit Streets without seats
It is sometimes hard to get Nowhere to rest
to the subway or bus
There are very few places for people to
New York City has one of the world’s best public sit and rest, meet and interact or people-
transit systems. Unfortunately, the well-used system watch along the streets of New York City.
is not accessible to all city residents and visitors. At A vastly disproportionate amount of space
some locations, sidewalks are not broad enough to is allocated to parking cars than to public
accomodate the flow in and out of busy subway stops. Limited space for access to and from public transportation.. seating spaces. While New York City The few public seating opportunities in the streets are of poor quality and exposed to traffic.
At others, those waiting for the bus must wait in the provides some of the best urban scenery
sun or rain because of a lack of shelters. In addition, at in the world, there are simply very few
some outer locations, busy bus stops lack sidewalks, places to stop, enjoy and soak in the unique
thus making access difficult, if not impossible, for the atmosphere.
disabled, elderly, and those pushing strollers.
Few resting opportunities while waiting for public transportation excludes some user groups. People find alternative seating where nothing else is provided.
24 25
C
Central Park
57th Stree
t
ue
8 Th Aven
More scaffolding
than seating
7th Avenue
Paramount
Plaza
long after it is necessary. For example, scaffolding covers 0 100 200 300 400 500
Park Aven
14th Stree
Café outdoor seating on the street curb side
t
Café outdoor seating in public space 30% of Broadway buildings There are only 6 curb side
Public seating in the street
between Columbus Circle outdoor cafés on Broadway
Public seating in public space
Washington Astor Place
and Houston St are covered between Columbus Circle
Square
with scaffolding. and Soho.
Houston Street
Prince and
Spring Street
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
PRINCE AND
24% for bicycles
ay
roadw
West B
er St
e St
Woost
Green
r St
Sitting on café chairs. Sitting on secondary seating.
Merce
way
Broad
y St
Crosb
Parking Spaces Parked Bicycles Public Seating
Parking Spaces 64
Commercial activities. Standing.
Parked Bicycles 21
With the exception of Flushing Main Street,the areas surveyed in The type of stationary activities found in New York’s streets are
New York have a significantly lower ratio of stationary activities very different than those found in other world cities. A majority of
per 100 yards of street compared to other capital cities. Sitting the stationary activities recorded on Flushing’s Main Street are Public Seating Spaces 1
activities are especially few in New York. commercial activities associated with street vendors. The majority
0 20 40 60 80
of the stationary activities recorded along Swanston Street in
Melbourne, by contrast, are associated with people window shopping
or relaxing in public benches, café chairs and/or secondary seating.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Broadway
places to be, they in fact discourage some groups
from walking or being on a public street altogether.
Flatbush Ave
30% of New York’s population
SURVEY AREA
rarely seen in the street
environment in places
12% 2%
where streets are traffic
5% 10%
Flushing Main St
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W 48 St
World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
W 48 St
7th Ave
W 47 St
Times Square
W 47 St
consists of
89% road space
Broadway
11% people space
W 46 St Times Square
Total area: 183,000 sq ft
Little Braz
il Street
Pedestrian area: 20,200 sq ft
Few people ever visit the plaza around the arch in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza.
Broadway
7th Ave
space- and to get to that island, they often need to negotiate
complicated and busy crossings. W 44 St
Once there, they find none of the opportunities to interact Herald Square is a hidden oasis in the middle of traffic.
with the indoor environment that a building edge provides. W 44 St
Indoor activities are not allowed to spill into the public realm
(and vice versa) because so few public spaces are actually
Times Square at night. People are crowded on a narrow traffic
bordered by a building. Instead, the only influence at the
island in a traffic dominated space. Recent NYCDOT projects to
border of a public space is often a street full of traffic.
create more space for people in Madison Square and on Broadway
Herald and Greeley Squares are a classic example of this
north of 34th Street (see pages 39 and 40) may have future
phenomenon. In an effort to protect them from adjacent
application along Broadway north of 42nd Street.
traffic, planners have surrounded each square with trees,
W 43 St
hedges, and walls. As a result, the plazas are visually
and physically detached from the pedestrian flow on the W 43 St
sidewalks. The vitality of one space does nothing to feed the
other. The lack of visual connections and natural pedestrian
flow through the spaces makes them more unsafe at night,
and as a result these spaces, and many like them across the
City, are closed after dark.
Additionally, most of the actual space in Herald Square is
active street space for motor vehicles. 82% of the'square'
is taken up by busy through streets. Similar conditions are
W 42 St
found in Times Square.
32 W 42 St 33
World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Closed Façades
Problems with Metal Gates 60% of the shop fronts in the
surveyed area have closed metal
Sidewalks can be partially illuminated at night by
light spilling from closed shops and offices. Metal gates on a Sunday at noon.
gates, however, not only limit this ambient light,
but also become canvases for graffiti and dirt
that further detract from the quality of the city
environment. In addition, shuttered streets become
Can
uninteresting and unfriendly outside business hours. al S
tree
While protecting one’s business is of course t
necessary, business owners could elect to use a
more street-friendly design. For example, stores
could use lattice work grating instead of the solid
metal gates.
2/5
4/7
ay
Broadw
No invitation for a Sunday promenade here.
Metal gates are not only a
problem at night, creating dark
and unpleasant streets with
nothing to look at, but also after
closing hours on weekends, 5/8
Open-grilled gates maintain safety but create a more interesting building front along the sidewalk.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Gansevoort Plaza
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Before
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Sidewalks to Buses–East Tremont, Bronx
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
44 45
World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Ninth Avenue Bike Lane, Manhattan. Raised speed reducers Bolton Avenue, Bronx. On street bikeway, 9th Street, Brooklyn.
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Imprinted asphalt, 185th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan. Resin-bound gravel, 9th Avenue & 14th Street, Manhattan.
Modular cobble, New York Stock Exchange. London pavers, Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian ramp.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report is the product of many creative people dedicated to the The Fall, 2007 Public Space Public Life Survey was structured and
health of cities and to New York in particular. NYCDOT staff work overseen by Gehl Architects and largely carried out by volunteers.
tirelessly to improve New York’s public realm. They designed and NYCDOT’s Corinne LeTourneau undertook the heavy lifting of
implemented the groundbreaking projects highlighted in the report’s organizing, equipping and scheduling the surveyors, and receiving the
third section, and have many more such improvements still up their resulting data. Thanks to Transportation Alternatives for mobilizing
sleeves. Gehl Architects conducted its trademark Public Space/Public many of the surveyors. The survey was conducted by:
Life Survey, developed the report’s analysis of the city’s existing
streetscape and public realm, created initial drafts of this report and Jessica Ahoubin Kate Lindquist
has provided a wealth of experience and ideas to NYCDOT. Wilhemina Bauman Diedre Lizio
Beth Bingham Erin Longhbotum
Micaela Birmingham Marion Lunn
Christina Cabrera Adam Marcus
Petra Caines Heather Martin
www.gehlarchitects.dk Tali Cantor Dana McGloughlin
Nuphur Chadhury Michelle Neuringer
Gehl Architects staff and sub-consultants: Julia De Martini Day Dara Nussbaum
Brooke Dubose Karla Quintero
Jan Gehl Henriette Mortensen Liz Eisenberg Matthew Roe
Ewa Westermark Rob Adams Stephanie Elson Heath Row
Jeff Risom Jens Rörbech Rich Felsing Ryan Rzepecki
Leah Flax Ryan Sharpe
DOT’s report team was Jon Orcutt, Nina Haiman and Chun Fong Will Sherman
Andy Wiley-Schwartz. Erick Gahlberg Shira Siegel
Juliana Gola Daniel Simon
The following NYCDOT Commissioners and staff have provided Annie Hart Rebecca Sauer
invaluable input, materials and inspiration to this work: Gretchen Heiserman Yuan Tang
Martha Kenton Teresa Toro
Lori Ardito, First Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Kim Alice Walkup
Micheal Kodransky Erick Washington
Deputy Commissioners Justin Kray Ben Winter
Joseph Cannisi Bruce Schaller Zack LaValle Ivana Zgalijic
Leon Heyward David Woloch Lindsey Lusher Lin Zhang
Michael Primeggia
Photo Credits
Joe Barr Margaret Newman All photos © NYCDOT/Gehl unless noted below.
Eric Beaton Hillary Poole page 19 (London, Oxford Street)
Joshua Benson Michael Primeggia flickr.com: Olivier Bruchez
Emily Colasacco Sean Quinn page 7, 47 (Cemusa newstand) : Matt Greenslade
Ann Marie Doherty Naim Rasheed page 45 (bottom right image)
Wendy Feuer Vanessa Rauschenberger flickr.com: Elena Madison
Mike Flynn Theodora Ravago
Zac Frank Heather Richardson
Holly Haff Ryan Russo Design: Pure+Applied | www.pureandapplied.com
Dalila Hall Andrea Samdahl
Terra Ishee Raisa Saratovsky
Edward Janoff Dani Simons
Sarah Keeville Gerard Soffian
Daniel Kukla Keri Tyler
Vaidila Kungys William M. Vallejo
Inessa Lipsky Randy Wade
Tom Maguire Kelsey Walko
Michael Marsico Steve Weber
Brooke McKenna Heidi Wolf
David Moidel
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World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
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