New York City's Department of Transportation unveiled an updated vision for Park Avenue on Thursday, releasing a new design that would remove more traffic lanes for cars than previously planned.
City officials have for months said they aim to overhaul an 11-block stretch of the avenue from 46th to 57th streets to make its medians look more like a park. They plan to overhaul the street while the MTA rebuilds the Grand Central Terminal train shed beneath it.
The city released two designs for the avenue in April that would remove parking lanes on both sides to build a wider, leafy pathway in the middle of the street. But after receiving feedback from community members, officials said they decided to remove another southbound traffic lane to add a two-way bike lane and separate cyclists from pedestrians.
New renderings of the design show expanded medians, more seating and planters, as well as enough space for what the city calls “flexible program space” in the median. The street currently has three lanes for car traffic in each direction, as well as a lane for curbside parking. The latest design leaves parking spaces on both sides of the street, with one lane of through traffic southbound and two lanes for traffic northbound.
“This updated design puts more space where it belongs: in the hands of New Yorkers," Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote in a statement. "By expanding our medians, adding greenery and seating and creating a dedicated protected bike connection, we are making Park Avenue safer and more beautiful for everyone who uses it.”
The city plans to overhaul the street while the MTA rebuilds the train shed below the roadway. The $1.7 billion rehabilitation will replace thousands of corroded steel beams and columns supporting Park Avenue above the Metro-North train tracks running beneath the street.
The MTA’s work requires ripping up the roadway and medians. The city will use the opportunity to redesign Park Avenue during that construction. MTA officials said they're still working to establish a timeline for the train shed project.
This story was updated with additional comments and clarifications from public officials.
