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Transportation & Environment
Application by the New York City Department of Transportation for the temporary closure of two blocks of Broadway between 39th and 41st Streets to motor vehicles
WHEREAS, The New York City Department of Transportation (“DOT”) proposes temporarily closing Broadway between 39th and 41st Streets to motor vehicles for the summer months of June, July, as part of a pilot program begun in 2017; and
WHEREAS, This proposed seasonal street closure program originally emerged from DOT’s 2016 Strategic Plan and represents a test case that, if successful, could be adapted and implemented in other locations in the city in the future; and
WHEREAS, In 2017 DOT proposed testing this type of street treatment on this part of Broadway because there is little existing public space in the Garment District and this particular stretch of Broadway exhibits an especially low volume of motor vehicles during the summer months contrasted with exceptionally high pedestrian counts; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five previously approved the temporary closure of two blocks on Broadway between 36th and 40st Streets to motor vehicles during the months of June, July, and August of 2017 on the condition that the Applicant conduct a traffic study and report the results to the Board prior to applying for a renewal of the program; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant returned to the Committee to present the data obtained from the traffic study conducted during the 2017 summer street closures; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant’s traffic study indicated that the street closure yielded a significant increase in pedestrian traffic to the area, with a reported 1.8 million visitors to the closed blocks; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant’s traffic study indicated that the street closures had little impact on vehicular traffic in the area; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant’s traffic study indicated that the 2017 plan’s treatment of the bicycle lane on Broadway was impractical; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant’s traffic study indicated that the 2017 plan’s closure of non-contiguous blocks made it difficult for pedestrians to enjoy the space as a whole and also interfered with the smooth delivery of certain commercial deliveries; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant’s current proposal to temporarily close two adjacent blocks of Broadway to motor vehicles while not altering the path of the existing bicycle lane would rectify the problems associated with the previous plan; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes that as with the previous plan, DOT would post appropriate signage regarding the temporary street closures on to alert southbound drivers of the changing traffic pattern; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant’s proposed street design would allow for motor vehicles, including delivery trucks, to access businesses on the affected blocks via side streets; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant will install temporary signage encouraging bicycle riders to dismount and walk their bicycles through the public spaces; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes to furnish the newly-created public space with a combination of stone benches, “street seats,” turf boxes, movable furniture, and artwork; and
WHEREAS, The Garment District Alliance, as with the previous plan, proposes to install 12 food kiosks via Urban Spaces on the block between 39th and 40th Streets to generate revenue to help pay for the maintenance of the newly created public spaces; and
WHEREAS, The Garment District Alliance will dedicate the revenue generated from these booths strictly to the maintenance of the spaces; and
WHEREAS, The Garment District Alliance is committed to cleaning and “resetting” the spaces every night and power washing the spaces at 5am each morning; and
WHEREAS, The Garment District Alliance proposes to renew its contract with “Urban Pathways,” a homeless outreach organization, to help with the anticipated increase in the number of homeless visitors to the spaces, which proved to be an effective measure during the 2017 pilot program; and
WHEREAS, The Garment District Alliance has obtained a summer-long permit from SAPO for the proposed spaces; and
WHEREAS, No food trucks would be allowed to enter these spaces; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has received approval of the proposed street design from the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has committed to studying the effects of this street design on motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic during the period of the pilot program; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has committed to returning to the CB5 following the completion of the traffic study in the fall to present the results; and
WHEREAS, There is general public support for the creation of more public space in the heart of Manhattan; and
WHEREAS, Many of the local businesses viewed the 2017 program as a success and are greatly in favor of the proposed plan; and
WHEREAS, A significant percentage of the pedestrians polled in 2017 viewed the previous program as a success and are greatly in favor of the proposed plan; and
WHEREAS, Although Community Board Five has strong concerns regarding the best use of these spaces and recognizes a potential for abuse of public spaces by commercial entities, CB5 supports efforts to creatively share street space and improve vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic flow, as well as efforts to improve the aesthetics of the New York City streets, and believes that the Applicant’s proposed program fulfills these goals and provides a much needed benefit to the community; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of DOT’s proposed temporary closing of Broadway between 39th and 41st Streets to motor vehicles for the summer months of June and July; and
RESOLVED, Community Board Five encourages DOT and local Business Improvement Alliances to explore appropriate revenue generating models to support these spaces while simultaneously leaving them open for their intended use by members of the public.