After the Department of Transportation's previous plan to fix the traffic-snarled 34th Street corridor was nixed, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan came back last night with a new one [PDF]. Gone is the pedestrian plaza between Fifth and Sixth Avenues that so perturbed the Post. In are "bus bulbs," additional parking and loads more loading areas.
The biggest overall change will still be the addition of Select Bus Service on the thoroughfare, so that—like on Second and First Avenues—the 33,000 bus riders on the route will pay for their rides on the street before boarding.
On 34th Street east of Third Avenue and west of Ninth Avenues the current four lanes of regular traffic will be consolidated into the two interior lanes, while the exterior lanes will be reserved for buses and emergency vehicles only. Additional parking and loading, as well as turning areas and "bus bulbs" for entering SBS buses will be on the furthest edges of the street. Between Third and Ninth Avenue, where the street is thinner, the curb access and bus stops lanes will only be on one side of the street.
The biggest change for businesses in the area is that the number of loading and unloading areas on the strip will increase dramatically from 55 now to 355. Which, considering their vocal complaints about the lack of loading in the previous plan, should help calm some fears. "Loading is a big deal," Sadik-Khan said while announcing the plan last night.
And there is stuff for pedestrians in there too, as 15 crosswalks on the street will be shortened and an additional 18,000 square-feet of pedestrian space will be made available, if the plan passes.
Of course, none of this is set in stone. First the DOT needs to take the temperature of the locals (as well as get an environmental assessment and a traffic analysis, which will take some time). To that end there will be two open houses at the end of the month for the public to give their opinion. On Wednesday, March 30, those interested can head to the 6th floor of 111 East 33rd Street at Park Avenue at 6 p.m. and on Thursday, March 31, New Yorker Hotel is hosting the meeting on its 3rd floor starting at 6:30 p.m. Or, to put that in words the NY Post editors can understand, the DOT will be ramming the changes down the neighborhood's throat in the dead of night.
