Further proof, if proof were needed, that the NYC DOT is no better than the DOTs in Anywhere, USA,or,Hey, I'm walkin' heah!

Watch the Video

THE MTA is building a new subway station at 96th Street and Broadway that requires a wider median in the center of Broadway. To accommodate the wider median, the NYC DOT, who are not really the Department of Transportation but the Department of Making Cars Go Fast, want to make the sidewalks on both sides of the street 9 feet narrower. (Is the median really 18' wider?)

There are two better alternatives. The first is to take the 9' out of the lanes, which can easily be done. The result would be slower cars, which is a good thing: traffic lanes in New York are too wide for the urban context. The other is to take a lane out. Aren't two lanes plus a parking lane enough?

New York needs a Congestion Zone, quickly followed by a policy of changing our auto sewers to beautiful streets. Eighty percent of New Yorkers don't own cars, and we need to take back the streets from the DOT. Take a look at this book for some examples of how to do that.

from Clarence Eckerson, via Starts & Fits and Curbed