The city plans to expand the sidewalks on a notoriously cramped stretch of Canal Street where street vendors hawking bootleg goods create a pedestrian bottleneck, according to a transportation department proposal obtained by Gothamist.
The proposal, which was presented to Lower Manhattan elected officials last month, would extend the walkways on both sides of the busy crosstown street between Broadway and Elizabeth streets. The plan would also eliminate an eastbound traffic lane between Sixth Avenue and Hudson Street while turning the triangle at Baxter Street, where the Chinatown information kiosk sits, into a pedestrian plaza.
The crosstown passageway is notorious for its congested sidewalks marred with street vendors, tourists and locals hawking fake designer bags and Apple products.
The plan comes a month after city transportation officials vowed to speed up a planned redesign for Canal Street after two people were killed in a crash by an alleged drunk driver who police said was speeding at 109 mph over the Manhattan Bridge before losing control of their car on the corridor.
The city transportation department eyes expanded sidewalks along the busiest stretch of Canal Street.
According to city DOT data, 26 people have either been killed or severely injured on the street in the last five years.
The plan said the transportation department would either physically extend the curbs or create a “super sidewalk,” which is painted pedestrian space without expanding the curb, in an area notorious for congested walkways where tourists and locals compete for space with vendors.
The expanded sidewalks were designed to ease pedestrian traffic near several busy subway lines and make the “Chinatown portion of Canal Street more liveable and safer for key constituents such as the elderly,” the DOT’s proposal said.
“The Adams administration is dedicated to ensuring every New Yorker can enjoy safe streets, and is working to make Canal Street’s future more than a high-crash, highway-like corridor that splits Lower Manhattan in two," William Fowler, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, said in a statement. "We are working quickly to put forward a new street design that will protect everyone who shares this street, improve traffic flow, and address congestion on Canal Street’s sidewalks, as we continue to ensure the community has input in this process."
Street safety advocates at Transportation Alternatives applauded the proposal, but said they’d like to see the city take a more aggressive approach to improving safety on Canal Street.
“This plan is a great step in the right direction, but we need more to prevent cut-through traffic on Canal Street,” Ben Furnas, the executive director, wrote in a statement. “The next mayor should build on this change and extend the sidewalk with concrete, not just paint.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
