Department Of Transportation

April 8, 2022

100 streets across NYC to go car-free for Earth Day

In celebration of Earth Day, the city's Department of Transportation is hosting the annual Car Free Earth Day, connecting over 100 open streets across the five boroughs, 22 plazas, and over 1,000 miles of the city's bike network on April 23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. City agencies and community organizations will host programming along the streets to promote environmental activism and education about climate change, sustainability, and other related topics. DOT will also partner with local artists who will be putting on live performances.
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April 5, 2022

Council wants additional $3.1B to build up ‘NYC Streets Plan’

The New York City Council is calling on Mayor Eric Adams to allocate an additional $3.1 billion to build more bike lanes, bus lanes, and space for pedestrians. In a response to the mayor's preliminary budget for the fiscal year 2023 published this week, the council said the mayor would not be able to fulfill his campaign promise of building 300 miles of protected bus lanes during his first term due to a lack of funding. According to the council, the increased investment would allow for 500 miles of protected bike lanes, 500 miles of bus lanes, and 38 million square feet of open pedestrian space, according to the Council's proposal.
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March 15, 2022

NYC to roll out secure bike parking pods at five high-traffic cycling spots

Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez last Friday announced the city will be piloting a new bike parking model this spring. DOT will be testing Brooklyn-based company Oonee's "Mini," a prototype of the company's six-bike corral, at five high-traffic locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens over the next couple of months. The pilot program is part of the city's broader effort to expand secure bike parking.
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February 25, 2022

NYC Council approves zoning amendment in move toward permanent outdoor dining

The New York City Council on Thursday approved the Open Restaurants zoning text amendment to NYC’s Zoning Resolution, an important step in the path to making permanent outdoor dining a part of city life. The zoning amendment expands the areas where outdoor dining can be considered to all NYC neighborhoods. The amendment joins proposed legislative changes that would cut red tape for restaurant owners.
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January 19, 2022

NYC pledges to make 1,000 intersections safer for pedestrians

Last year, New York City experienced the highest level of traffic fatalities in over a decade, a majority of which took place at street intersections. Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced a plan to better protect pedestrians, including improving the design of 1,000 intersections across the city, constructing 100 raised crosswalks annually, and enforcing a new traffic rule that requires drivers and cyclists to fully stop for pedestrians when traffic controls are not in place.
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September 15, 2021

The Brooklyn Bridge bike lane is finally open

A long-awaited two-way protected bike lane officially opened on the Brooklyn Bridge Tuesday. Advocated for years by cyclists, the new path replaces the innermost car lane of the Manhattan-bound side of the iconic bridge and leaves the existing elevated promenade for pedestrians only. Both foot and bike traffic on the bridge, nicknamed the "Times Square in the Sky," skyrocketed in recent years, leading to dangerous, crowded conditions.
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July 7, 2021

Summer Streets is back this August with seven miles of car-free NYC blocks

New York City's original "Open Streets" return this August. The Department of Transportation announced "Summer Streets," the annual initiative that transforms seven miles of Manhattan streets into a car-free oasis, will take place on August 7 and August 14. While the city's popular Open Streets program was established last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Summer Streets is now in its 13th year.
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October 12, 2020

New bus-only lanes in the South Bronx will speed up city’s slowest routes

Nearly three miles of dedicated bus lanes equipped with transit signal priority technology and enforcement cameras opened in the South Bronx last week, part of the city's plan to speed up the system's notoriously slow travel times. The new lanes run along East 149th Street between Southern Boulevard and River Avenue and are used by four heavily-used bus routes, the Bx2, Bx4, Bx17, and the Bx19. The bus improvement project is the fourth to be completed since Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his Better Buses Restart plan in June amid the city's coronavirus pandemic recovery.
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June 26, 2020

See the 5,650+ restaurants open for outdoor dining in NYC

Restaurants and bars officially reopened for outdoor dining this week as part of New York City's phase two of reopening. Since Monday, more than 5,650 restaurants have applied, self-certified, and opened their sidewalk, patios, and adjacent parking spots to diners. To make it easier to find which establishments are open for al fresco dining in your neighborhood, the Department of Transportation on Friday released a dashboard and an interactive map that let New Yorkers search for open restaurants by borough and ZIP code.
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January 10, 2020

BQX streetcar plan rears its head, as city announces public meetings and updated timeline

The city is once again inching forward with its plan to bring a streetcar to run between Brooklyn and Queens, a problem-plagued $2.7 billion proposal first presented five years ago. The New York City Economic Development Corporation on Thursday launched a new website for the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) with information about public community meetings planned for February and March. According to the website, the city expects a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on the project to conclude in the spring of 2021, with the final statement ready by that fall. But questions about the logistics of constructing the streetcar's 11-mile route and its growing price tag.
It's back
December 5, 2019

Electric cargo bikes will replace some delivery trucks in NYC

Nearly two million packages on average are delivered in New York City each day, causing vans and trucks to clog already congested streets. Looking to address delivery-related traffic, as well as cut vehicle emissions, the city announced on Wednesday a pilot program that would encourage companies to use cargo bikes instead of trucks to deliver parcels in Manhattan below 60th Street.
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November 22, 2019

NYC to close streets around Rockefeller Center to cars during holiday season

The city will expand pedestrian space around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall during the holiday season, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday. Starting Nov. 29, 49th and 50th Streets, as well as Fifth and Sixth Avenues, will be partially closed to cars to alleviate congestion caused by the roughly 800,000 people who visit the Christmas Tree every day during the season. The expansion marks the first time the city has created a defined pedestrian space for the area.
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November 1, 2019

De Blasio resists plan to pedestrianize Rockefeller Center during upcoming holiday season

For years, residents and community leaders have called on the city to add pedestrian space near Rockefeller Center to make conditions safer for the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the area during the holiday season to see the tree and store windows. This week, the Department of Transportation privately issued a pilot plan to address the major crowds by increasing pedestrian space on Fifth Avenue between East 48th and East 51st Streets. But Mayor Bill de Blasio quashed the plan before it was officially released, claiming "it was not signed off on by City Hall."
Details here
September 20, 2019

How to get around NYC during this year’s United Nations General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly already began on Sept. 17 but Midtown has yet to experience the traffic nightmare that will hit the neighborhood next week. With meetings taking place through Sept. 30, the city has designated weekdays between Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 as gridlock alert days. On top of UNGA, Climate Week events will add to the congestion. “Drivers should leave their cars at home next week if they can—and try walking, taking mass transit, or getting on a bicycle," Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the Department of Transportation, said in a statement. Here's a handy guide to getting around the city during the busy week ahead, including street closures and traffic updates for those of you with nerves of steel.
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August 16, 2019

This Saturday is your final chance to enjoy Summer Streets

Now in its 12th year, Summer Streets returns this Saturday for its third and final hurrah, where New Yorkers can experience over seven miles of car-free streets. Park Avenue will be closed from Chambers Street all the way to 72nd, and the path will be open to cyclists and pedestrians alike. Five “rest stops” will be set up along the route, each with different activities, performances, and free snacks.
Car-free fun this way
August 1, 2019

After local condo board sues, judge rules that Central Park West bike lane can go forward

Earlier this week, a group of Upper West Side residents from the Century Condominium filed a suit against the city for its plans to install a protected bike lane on Central Park West, attempting to cease its construction immediately. As 6sqft previously reported, the bike lane plan consists of installing a northbound protected lane from 59th Street to 110th Street–eliminating 400 parking spots in the process (another point of contention for the plaintiffs). But yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Lynn Kotler ruled against their request for a “temporary restraining order” and expressed skepticism over their claims that the bike lane would bring “immediate and irreparable harm to the neighborhood,” as Streetsblog reported. Work crews will continue putting in the bike lane—which doesn’t actually involve any construction, just painting street markings—until city lawyers and plaintiffs reconvene in court on August 20.
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July 12, 2019

An urban garden will grow on a Garment District block this summer

One of the city’s busiest neighborhoods is getting a little slice of peace. The Garment District Alliance and the city's Department of Transportation unveiled a new street art installation Wednesday afternoon. The nearly 180-foot painting by artist Carla Torres, "Nymph Pond," takes up the stretch of Broadway between 37th and 38th Streets. The best part? The block with the mural is being temporarily set aside as an “urban garden” until the end of the summer.
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July 3, 2019

Protected bike lane coming to Central Park West after community board approval

A community board on Tuesday approved a plan to build a new protected bike lane along Central Park West, about one year after a cyclist was killed by a truck there. As West Side Rag reported, Manhattan's Community Board 7 voted in favor of the city's plan, which consists of a northbound protected lane from 59th to 110th Street. Ahead of the bike lane's construction, 400 parking spaces will be eliminated on Central Park West.
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July 2, 2019

Two new gardens in Queens will provide a space for immigrant communities to grow

Building on the success of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx, two additional New Roots Gardens are currently underway in Queens, the Sunnyside Post reports. The gardens are being planted on both sides of 69th Street near Woodside Avenue and will include vegetable beds, flowers, a greenhouse, and seating areas. As part of a Department of Transportation initiative with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and NYC Parks GreenThumb, the gardens aim to create a community space for immigrants and refugees, as well as access to fresh and affordable produce.
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April 4, 2019

Bjarke Ingels reveals new proposal for a park-covered BQE

The latest proposal to fix the crumbling BQE comes from Bjarke Ingels Group, who unveiled their plan to a crowd of 1,000 at a town hall meeting hosted by the Brooklyn Heights Association and advocacy group A Better Way last night. Dubbed the BQP—with the P standing for Park—the firm wants to build a new, six-lane highway that would be topped by a public park, saving the promenade and expanding Brooklyn Bridge Park by more than 10 acres. The proposal comes on the heels of Mayor de Blasio hitting the brakes on a $3 billion DOT plan and instead convening a "panel of experts" to determine the best path forward.
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April 2, 2019

RPA report for BQE redesign includes ideas for sparing Brooklyn Heights Promenade

A report released today by civic think tank Regional Plan Organization highlights options for the impending Brooklyn-Queens Expressway reconstruction that would appear to upend conventional highway reconstruction policy. The new report suggests that the DOT could actually reduce the number of lanes needed when redesigning the expressway's 1.5-mile “Triple Cantilever” under the historic Brooklyn Heights Promenade, in addition to looking at congestion pricing, HOV restrictions and two-way tolling for the Verrazano Bridge. The demand management policies outlined contain both immediate benefits–like eliminating the need to block access to the historic Brooklyn Heights Promenade–and long-term rewards like reducing pollution.
Fewer highways, less traffic?
March 13, 2019

NYC Comptroller proposes turning the BQE into a truck-only roadway with a park on top

Adding another perspective to the many voices who are seeking a solution to the “most challenging project not only in New York City but arguably in the United States,” City Comptroller Scott Stringer has outlined his own proposal to save the crumbling BQE, advocating for a middle-ground solution to the heated debate. Stringer's idea (notably without a timeline or proposed budget) is to turn the BQE into a truck-only highway and build a linear park above. "We remain hopeful that the agency can view the BQE's deterioration not just as an engineering challenge, but as an opportunity to create something new and bold that both accommodates essential traffic and enhances surrounding neighborhoods,” he wrote in a March 7 letter to Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.
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January 28, 2019

BQE repair plan could block view of NYC skyline from Brooklyn Heights

One of the city's plans to rehabilitate a 1.5 mile stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) includes building an elevated highway next to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. But opponents of the repair plan, which requires the pedestrian promenade to close during construction, say the roadway would block views of the Manhattan skyline. Renderings created for activist group A Better Way NYC shows how an overpass would block sweeping views of the city, as the New York Post reported.
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September 21, 2018

Brooklyn Heights Promenade could close for six years during BQE repairs

The Brooklyn Heights Promenade could close for six years while the city rehabilitates a 1.5 mile stretch of the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), transportation officials announced Thursday. According to Politico, the city's transportation department unveiled two plans for revamping the Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO section of the BQE, which supports the promenade. The options include a quicker, six-year plan to divert cars to an elevated highway next to the Promenade or replace the BQE lane by lane, which could take up to eight years.
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July 24, 2018

MTA to launch 14th Street Select Bus Service to help move 50K more daily riders during L train shutdown

Via Wikimedia The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) have announced that Select Bus Service will be available to riders on 14th Street in Manhattan as of January 6, 2019 ahead of the planned April 2019 L train tunnel closure for repairs to due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The M14 is expected to become the busiest bus route in the nation during the shutdown, with more than 50,000 additional daily riders expected to move above ground along 14th Street. According to NYC Transit President Andy Byford: "Launching Select Bus Service on 14th Street is a critical part of a multi-faceted service plan to keep thousands of customers moving safely and efficiently as they commute crosstown."
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