Quote:
Originally Posted by aquablue
How about widening the sidewalks and planting small trees in rows, making it look like a real exclusive high-end street? Perhaps they could tax the residents to pay for it, I"m sure they could pony up for it  |
I actually think this is a great idea. Perhaps they could pedestrianize Broadway all the way to Columbus Circle to pay for it? They could sell the 'air rights' from the portions of Broadway that are made into how it is down around Times Square, and major streets--especially 57th--could be given much more fitting pedestrian amenities. I can't imagine re-designing the street between Columbus &... 3rd Avenue would be too expensive.
As Midtown continues to get denser, especially with the re-zoning imminent, the focus is going to have to really shift totally away from vehicles. Sidewalks in much of Midtown are crammed as-is, and it's time to start planning while we can. If we can't tax the B&T auto commuters, then we might as well make it as difficult as possible for non-taxi/bus/freight services to use Midtown.