New York City announced new “super sidewalks” along a busy avenue that aims to provide more space for pedestrians as part of a multi-million dollar upgrade plan.
What to Know
- New York City announced new "super sidewalks" along a busy avenue that aims to provide more space for pedestrians as part of a multi-million dollar upgrade plan.
- City officials came together Tuesday to cut the ribbon on $231 million of upgrades to, not only one of Midtown's major corridor, but Manhattan’s water distribution system.
- The infrastructure project includes a street redesign to reclaim more space for pedestrians on 9th Avenue along with 14 miles of new water mains and sewers, many of which were installed more than a century earlier.
New York City announced new "super sidewalks" along a busy avenue that aims to provide more space for pedestrians as part of a multi-million dollar upgrade plan.
City officials came together Tuesday to cut the ribbon on $231 million of upgrades to, not only one of Midtown's major corridor, but Manhattan’s water distribution system.
The infrastructure project includes a street redesign to reclaim more space for pedestrians on 9th Avenue along with 14 miles of new water mains and sewers, many of which were installed more than a century earlier.
The expanded sidewalks on Ninth Avenue join Midtown’s “Super Sidewalks”, a growing DOT treatment to tackle busy pedestrian corridors, such as Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
“Super Sidewalks” are one of the newer strategies used to use public space adequately and support safe, sustainable, and efficient transportation options, city officials said.
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"This dynamic redesign of 9th Avenue is a shining example of city government and the community working together to improve our streets and sidewalks,” the city's DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said. “Along with similar great work on Seventh and Eighth Avenues, DOT is continually looking for ways to enhance the safety of our public realm and address sidewalk congestion by balancing the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles."
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Ninth Avenue is already a Vision Zero Priority Corridor since it is the commercial hub of Hell’s Kitchen and home to many stores, and bars and restaurants, which translates to a high number of foot traffic. The street has also been popular among cyclists as a southbound route, prompting the city to name a section of the avenue as the first New York City street to have an on-street protected bicycle lane in 2007.
The newly announced project will feature a painted sidewalk expansion on the east side of Ninth Avenue. Pedestrian safety features will be added, including a midblock crosswalk, three newly constructed pedestrian islands, and a painted curb extension. The redesign still includes a parking protected bike lane, as well as a split phase left turn, and three consistent travel lanes.
The redesign began as a major water main project by the city's Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Design and Construction that from 2012 to 2017 made connections at four Manhattan sites to the City’s Third Water Tunnel. At the conclusion of that work, DEP added to the project more major water main work along 9th Avenue in the 50s and subsequently a full roadway reconstruction and street design.
As part of the project, DEP and DDC installed 18,000 feet of steel trunk water mains and 51,000 feet of regular ductile iron water mains. Additionally, 5,000 feet of sewers along with catch basins were replaced and 650,000 square feet of roadway along with curbs and sidewalks were reconstructed.
