Though modest by comparison, here's another first for this historic day. Manhattan Community Board 2's Ian Dutton sent over photos of the new Grand Street cycle track, the city's initial attempt at a parking-protected design.

Says Ian:

With a one-block exception, from Varick St. to Centre St. seems to be open for business, only lacking the bicycle symbols on the lane itself. The section through Little Italy and Chinatown is nearly complete, with a few minor surface details remaining.

My experience on two circuits today was that it worked beautifully. Cars were parked as expected and the "mixing zones" accommodating turning vehicles across the bike lane were handled unusually respectfully from drivers, who were probably not sure how to treat them. Not bad for the first (or maybe second) day.

There were a few pedestrians who stepped off the curb to cross the street and waited in the bike lane, but that is no different than any other bike lane. I'm very hopeful that we're off to a good start.

Photo pool contributor Jacob-uptown had similar things to say after cruising the new Grand: "Cars have learned where to park ... This is a huge precedent for creating these cheap yet highly effective bike lanes."

More pics after the jump. Note the overhead signage.

Four strangers engaged in an intense Scrabble game at the busy corner of Atlantic Ave. and Court St. in Downtown Brooklyn, my first stop.

The Park(ing) spot on Montague St. in Brooklyn Heights was jam packed with teenagers from St. Anne's on their lunch break. These two played Connect Four.

The Montague St. spot was designed to accommodate all ages...

...and all species.

In Manhattan, this Park(ing) spot next to Noguchi's Red Cube on Broadway and Liberty offered fine halal food and a front row seat to the global financial metldown.

In Soho, on Thompson between Prince and Spring, DEGW's "City in a Box" spot was exceptionally pleasant.

Over on LaGuardia Place, a block away from NYU, the owner of Washington Square Wine and Liquor argued with these Park(ers) from the Center for Architecture that the loss of this parking spot was hurting his business. Forget that only six percent of Soho shopping trips are done by car -- I didn't have the heart to tell this upstanding merchant that if he's having trouble selling liquor on a Friday afternoon in the middle of a college campus, Park(ing) Day is the least of his problems.  

There was less controversy on Sixth Ave. near W. 4th St. where NYU Wagner School students sunned themselves, tossed beanbags and provided cool drinks to passersby.

Christine Berthet and Ian Dutton (standing and talking at left) represented Manhattan Community Boards 2 and 4 over on Eighth Ave. and 14th St. That's Ian's wife Shea on the bench with the incredible red hair.

And explaining all of this to New Yorkers via NY1 was Streetswiki producer Lily Bernheimer at The Open Planning Project's super-high concept "Open Source City Park" spot on 8th Ave. and 15th St.

Manhattan Community Board 4's transportation committee unanimously approved DOT's plan to install a physically-separated bike path on Eighth Avenue in Lower Manhattan. The committee enthusiastically recommended the plan to the full board on Wednesday. The board then voted to ignore their own committee and block the plan. Apparently, some members feel that complete streets and safe bike infrastructure are somehow incompatible with the neighborhood's gay-friendly environment. Chelsea Now has the play-by-play:

Board member Allen Roskoff was more specific. “I refer to Eighth Ave. between 14th and 23rd Streets as ‘Gay Boulevard,’ he said. “Large numbers of gay people go there… It’s where we feel at home. … The atmosphere there—the restaurants, the activity, the people walking— it’s a home to many of us that no other avenue is. I don’t think these changes are for the positive in any way, shape or form.”

Which reminds me... Have you looked in to joining your local Community Board lately? This kind of thing is going to keep happening until either the Community Board system is overhauled or we get more Ian Dutton's, Christine Berthet's and Teresa Toro's serving on local boards.

The DOT's plan for a pilot project on Eighth Avenue, which can be downloaded here, mirrors the complete street redesign of Ninth Avenue one block to the west. The Eighth Avenue bike lane also runs through part of CB2, which unanimously approved the project last month.

It's also worth noting that outcry against the bike lane at CB4 was not at all universal and that Community Boards only have advisory power. DOT can go ahead with the project with or without the board's support. Again, from Chelsea Now:

Board member David Hanzel observed that “walking down Ninth Ave., I think it’s an improved experience.” He said there’s less traffic, fewer cars making sharp turns, and it’s “more of a leisurely stroll now.”

Hanzel was seconded by longtime member Bob Trentlyon, who observed that the discussion was the “most retro conversation I’ve heard at a board meeting in a long time. … There must be two Ninth Aves., because the Ninth Ave. I see, the traffic is moving very smoothly along… There are no businesses that have gone out of business since this has happened; there are more people starting to use the bike lanes.”

"All attendees agree that the pilot is worth going ahead with," Dutton said in an email. "We worked through the area that we're going to recommend for the pilot and discussed issues like the meters' effective hours and time limits."

DOT had distributed flyers throughout the neighborhood explaining that the pilot program was contingent on a positive verdict at the meeting. Few people attended despite the outreach, which Dutton interpreted as a sign that opposition to the idea is not strong. "My feeling is that this indicates that residents are not particularly concerned about 'protecting' unreasonably low meter rates and that businesses don't fear changes to the way things are done," he said.

A resolution on the peak parking proposal will be finalized at a CB2 transportation committee meeting on July 8, and will go to the full board on July 24 for a final vote. If implemented, the pilot program is expected to begin in September.

Photo: misplacedparadox/Flickr

Variable-rate parking, advocated most famously by UCLA professor Donald Shoup and given a boost last week by Transportation Alternatives, applies a market-based mechanism to meter prices, charging more during peak hours. The policy promises to cut congestion by reducing the distance drivers travel cruising for spots, which according to T.A.'s recent study [PDF] adds up to millions of miles throughout the city each year.

In flyers distributed for the meeting, DOT calls the proposal "Peak Rate Parking" and says a pilot program would test the following:

• If turnover at meters increase during peak periods
• If double-parking decreases
• If drivers “circle” less to find a space
• If buses can pull to the curb more frequently

According to Dutton, DOT is currently undertaking a study of parking demand in the neighborhood to give meeting participants a sense of what different meter rates will accomplish. Public input will strongly influence how DOT proceeds. "They want to let the neighborhood come up with ideas," said Dutton.

People who live or work in the vicinity of Community District 2 can play a role in shaping this critical policy reform this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center -- 3 Clarkson Street, 3rd Floor.

Photo: the wicked witch of the east/Flickr

In a pair of votes last week, DOT's plan for a protected bike path on Eighth Avenue got the thumbs up from Community Board 2. On Tuesday, the transportation committee approved a resolution expressing support for the cycle track, and on Thursday, the full board did the same. Both votes were unanimous.

The path will run from Bank Street to 23rd Street and is also set to be reviewed by Community Board 4.

Ian Dutton, vice-chair of the CB2 transportation committee, gives credit to DOT's public outreach effort. "They printed up brochures for [the plan], and went door to door," he said. "Instead of there being more uproar, at our meeting absolutely no one was there to express concerns." The twelve attendees who spoke about the cycle track all supported it, he added.

In the resolution, CB2 requested bell bollards for pedestrian refuges and leading pedestrian intervals at some intersections. DOT has shown more openness to such suggestions than in years past, said Dutton. "It's remarkable how much they're seeking our input instead of just dictating terms. They're asking the neighborhood what they think."

According to Dutton, DOT plans to complete the cycle track by November.

Photo: NYCDOT

A bill intended to step up enforcement against drivers who block the box made it through the state legislature last Thursday. While the measure is not expected to play a major role in traffic reduction, it should improve conditions for pedestrians and residents on some of New York's most congested streets, as long as agents follow through on strict enforcement.

The bill reclassifies blocking the box from a moving violation to a parking violation, a switch that enables all 2800 of the city's traffic agents to issue citations for the offense. Previously, only cops and a small number of agents had that ability. The bill also bumps up the penalty from $50 to $115.

In a 2006 study conducted by Borough President Scott Stringer's office [PDF], more than 3,000 blocking the box violations were observed at 10 locations in Manhattan during a single nine-hour period, but no driver received a ticket.

At the worst locations -- near the entrances to the Lincoln and Holland tunnels -- box-blocking vehicles clog the crosswalk constantly during peak hours. "That is a huge part of complaints on Varick Street and Broome Street, where pedestrians can't get across the intersection," said Ian Dutton of the Community Board 2 transportation committee, which passed a resolution in favor of the bill last Tuesday. "This is a beginning step to make the enforcement more comprehensive."

Near the Lincoln Tunnel, the river of traffic can sometimes form a continuous queue on Ninth Avenue, spilling over into cross streets. "Everybody's blocking everybody," said Christine Berthet of the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety (ChekPeds). "You see the backup going from 36th to 57th Street on Saturday and Sunday nights."

The fact that no one wants to give up their spot in the queue causes problems for first responders. Engine 34 and Ladder 21, for instance, often face delays leaving the firehouse on 38th Street because intersections are blocked.

Then there are the noise problems. "From a quality of life standpoint," said Berthet, "you can barely function inside your apartment because the honking becomes unbearable. Residents have had to call police because people get out from their cars and get into fistfights, it's so infuriating."

She hopes that stepped up enforcement will impose some order on the situation, noting that the new law will only be effective if agents shift their focus accordingly. "It's a conflict between giving the tickets out and moving cars," she said. "I just hope the NYPD will really educate the agents to change their priorities. That's going to be a cultural change that's welcome."

While clamping down on one type of traffic violation pales in comparison to what Albany has rejected during the current legislative session, even this relatively minor measure has aroused indignation among many drivers, if the attitudes captured by NY1 last week are any indication:

"I think only cops should be able to give the tickets to be honest with you," said one driver.

"I think with this kind of congestion, it's very difficult to implement such a law, and it wouldn't be fair," said another.

"I think, like most drivers, we just don't like the traffic agents," said a third.

Photo: Claire's overseas/Flickr

Manhattan Community Board 2 member Ian Dutton reports that this morning city officials held a groundbreaking for the renovation of Petrosino Square. As part of the project, the square, which lies on Lafayette Street between Kenmare and Spring, will be expanded, as one of Lafayette's two southbound travel lanes will be turned into park space. Writes Dutton:

Interestingly, the loudest round of applause from the crowd of local residents, many elderly Italian citizens, appeared to come during [Council Member] Alan Gerson's remarks regarding freeing up useless road space on Lafayette St. for community use. "Today is an historic day as we transfer a lane of pavement to more space for an expanded park -- space for the people who appreciate the neighborhood and space for public art."

Though long-time Little Italy residents might not appreciate the impact of crowd- and traffic-attracting street festivals, the value of proper use of public space hasn't been completely lost on this audience.

Not only are Portland, Oregon's new bike boxes to be accompanied by a motorist safety campaign, they're also making them hard for drivers to miss at street level. Note the "Get Behind It" sign to the right.

Compare the Portland version to a New York bike box:

Could this call for a green paint line item in the livable streets fund? 

Photos: BikePortland.org/Flickr [Portland], Ian Dutton [New York]

Community Board 2's Traffic & Transportation Committee heard specifics last night on a DOT pilot project that would open a segment of Prince Street to pedestrians 14 days a year. And as expected, the committee and DOT heard from residents who want the pedestrian-heavy thoroughfare to continue to accommodate cars 24/7/365.

The city proposes to close Prince to cars from Lafayette to W. Broadway on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The project would last from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.

According to surveys cited by DOT:

• Eighty-five percent of people travel to Prince Street by subway, on foot, by bike or on a bus.
  
• Eighty percent of pedestrians interviewed on a Saturday "experience the street as being crowded."
• Expanding pedestrian space would attract people to come to Prince Street more often, where they would spend "about five times as much money" in neighborhood shops and restaurants.
• On a typical weekend, 200 vehicles travel Prince Street in an hour, compared to 4,500 pedestrians.
  

While some members of the public spoke in favor, they were easily outnumbered by opponents. "There was a lot of screaming about an out of control street vendor problem that the City seems unwilling or unable to address," one Community Board member said.

For an idea of the tenor of the debate, one supporter of the plan who pointed out that pedestrian streets work in London and other cities was rebutted with cries of "This is New York City!"

...And this is Paris. Does this look like a horrible street to live on?

A key complaint of opponents is that the city doesn't do enough to enforce rules against sidewalk vending, prompting fears that Prince Street "Open Sundays" would become, in essence, noisy street fairs crowded with kiosks. But one attendee picked up on another strain of contention:

It was clear from last night's meeting that many of the people against the car-free Prince proposal want fewer pedestrians in the neighborhood, not more. In a sense, they concede that a car-free Prince would be more appealing to outsiders. It's just not what they want.

Still, the committee ultimately adopted a resolution that, according to committee member Ian Dutton, acknowledges the merits of DOT's plan but says it is unacceptable because it was proposed and developed without enough community input. While we have yet to see the actual wording, Dutton says the resolution proposes "forming a neighborhood stakeholders group to come up with a more comprehensive plan that the community can accept."

The resolution leaves open the possibility that the project is still alive, perhaps with community activists like Sean Sweeney of the SoHo Alliance -- currently, a vocal opponent -- working with the city to make it more palatable to all.

Graphics: NYC DOT

Earlier this week, Community Board 2 in Greenwich Village held a public meeting to get feedback on NYU's proposal to pedestrianize Washington Place, part of a larger plan to improve public space in the school's core campus. Nearby residents aren't happy with the number of cars that park in the area now, but (surprise!) they don't want to do what's necessary to improve things, either. A tipster sends along this recap:

Tuesday night's CB2 meeting on pedestrianizing Washington Place turned nasty. There were about a dozen or so residents speaking decidedly against restricting car access, including a couple folks who infused a lot of hostility to the entire discussion. Even though residents complained that it was being used as an NYU parking lot, they also loved the fact that you can always make great time speeding down this incredibly wide street.

Even the idea of taking away parking to plant trees seemed controversial to this crowd; they preferred the space to be taken from pedestrians. They were very hostile to the NYU presenters, and belligerent to the half dozen or more folks who thought more space for pedestrians was a good idea.

I hope this was simply a case of them hating the messenger (NYU) but not necessarily the idea of giving more space to pedestrians. Still, there were a lot of motorheads in the room. There was, however, a good showing on the pro-pedestrian side: George Haikalis, Barry Benepe, T.A. and a few others were there to fly the flag. Still, it's disappointing to think that this is the community that closed the leg of Fifth Avenue that used to run through Washington Square Park many years ago. Seems like the Jane Jacobs legacy was lost on this crowd.

The full plan, called NYU Plans 2031, consists of an array of measures intended build the school's central campus within its existing footprint, while simultaneously improving the public environment. A full, up-to-date explanation, with renderings, is available in this PDF.

"NYU realizes that the pedestrian experience in their core area is not very pleasant," says Ian Dutton, vice-chair of CB2's transportation committee, who spoke favorably of the pedestrianization plan. He notes that most of the cars on this stretch of Washington Place are usually circling for parking, and that if full-on pedestrianization doesn't happen, NYU will most likely take other measures to improve the streetscape, like a greening program and adding street amenities.

Image courtesy of NYU

Tomorrow the Hudson River Park Trust is set to vote on a plan by the Related Companies to redevelop Pier 40 on W. Houston Street as a ~$600 million entertainment complex, which would include a permanent home for Cirque du Soleil and the Tribeca Film Festival, and would draw thousands of visitors per day.

Neighborhood residents say the Related plan would ruin the pier's current use as a park and would bring unwanted auto traffic to the area. According to Community Board 2 member (and Streetsie Activist of the Year) Ian Dutton, the Related plan includes over 10,000 daily vehicle crossings of the Hudson River Greenway. Pier advocates have formed a group called the Pier 40 Partnership, which put together a counter-proposal and has pledged to raise tens of millions of dollars toward a much needed rehab of the pier.

On Sunday, hundreds showed up to protest the Related plan and express support for keeping the pier for neighborhood use. The Times reports:

"We love Pier 40," said Mellora, 14. "We need the fields," added her mother, Bonnie Ansbro. "It builds a sense of community. We don't want these kids to travel all over the city to play."

"Keep the park a park," said Rich Caccappolo, president of the partnership, whose members include Craig Balsam, a founder of Razor & Tie Entertainment; Chris McGinnis, a real estate developer; and Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist. "It's not a circus, a performing arts center, or a huge destination that'll draw 1,000 cars."

The Villager, which probably has the most thorough coverage of the Pier 40 story, last week called on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other officials to step in on behalf of the neighborhood.

The community looks to [Quinn's] for support to save the pier from becoming an extravagant entertainment destination, and to help support the groups that will contribute to creating a low-impact but viable alternative. She needs to tell the Trust she supports the Partnership's alternative - and, in the strongest terms possible, that Related's proposal is unacceptable. Speaker Quinn, the community will remember your leadership on this pivotal issue.

Rendering from Pier 40 Partnership via The Villager

We're just catching up to this piece of good news in The Villager last week:

With the Houston St. renovation project on the West Side finally nearing completion, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the sidewalks between Sixth Ave. and W. Broadway on the street's south side have doubled in width. And, in an interesting twist, the existing trees were left in place - right in the middle of the pavement. Ian Dutton, vice chairperson of Community Board 2's Traffic and Transportation Committee, said this was not a mistake by the Department of Design and Construction. "People really expressed concern that trees were being destroyed needlessly in this project," Dutton said. "So I think that was D.D.C.'s way of preserving these trees."

Surprisingly, some people had expressed concern about widening the sidewalks. Dutton said Lucy and Leonard Cecere, who own a building at MacDougal and Houston Street, feared they'd have more snow to shovel in the winter, while Sean Sweeney, the Soho Alliance's director, thought wider sidewalks could become a "circus," attracting an influx of vendors and performers on top of the vendors who already congregate there under a deal with St. Anthony's Church.

But Dutton said he believes that only a path needs to be cleared in winter, not the entire sidewalk. "I think it has actually changed the mood of the street," Dutton said of the mid-pavement trees. "It almost feels like a European promenade."… Meanwhile, Councilmember Alan Gerson is still fuming at the Department of Transportation over the project's having narrowed traffic islands at pedestrian crossings heavily used by local senior citizens. "I am at my wit's end with this department," he declared at C.B. 2's meeting last Thursday.

If, however, you want to know how many people were hit by cars or where the most dangerous intersections are in your neighborhood, CompStat won't help you. Those numbers aren't there. And if you're looking for details of an incident in which someone was hurt or killed by a driver, your quest is likely to be frustratingly difficult, if not impossible. Even if you're a member of a New York City Community Board.

Ian Dutton knows this story well. After Hope Miller, 28, an aspiring actress from Queens, was killed on Houston Street on September 25, Dutton -- who serves on CB 2's Traffic and Transportation Committee and lives a block from where Miller died -- began making calls. According to media reports, the driver of the truck that killed Miller, 48-year-old Roger Smiley of Brooklyn, was charged with leaving the scene, operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs, and resisting arrest. He was not, however, charged with killing Miller. Dutton wanted to know why.

He started with Rita Lee, a senior advisor in Council Member Alan Gerson's office, who gave him a few phone numbers. Some of them didn't work anymore. When he got through to the office of New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau (left), Dutton says most the people he talked to were "outwardly dismissive." Claiming no record of an incident involving a Roger Smiley or Hope Miller, DA office personnel instructed Dutton to get an arrest number from the police.

Since the site of the crash is near the boundary separating the two, Dutton was then bounced between NYPD Precincts 1 and 6. It took ten phone calls to find someone willing to offer any help -- an officer at the 6th Precinct who told Dutton that, when a driver kills a pedestrian, a charge of homicide is brought if drugs or alcohol are involved. If the driver is sober, the offense merits a traffic ticket.

"That sounded ridiculous," Dutton says, "but it sounded like it was the modus operandi."

Dutton was finally able to get Smiley's arrest number, but when he called the DA's office back he was told the number didn't exist. He was also asked repeatedly who he was and why he was calling.

Dutton then returned to Lee and asked if she could get any information on the case. Lee learned that two charges, DWI and negligent homicide, may be issued against Smiley. But Lee said those charges were pending and could take years to be filed. This was over a month ago.

At this point, says Dutton, "I couldn't tell you what's going on."

Though his efforts got him little more than what proved to be a useless arrest number, Dutton doesn't think he was stonewalled due to the nature of the case. Rather, he believes Manhattan DA staffers simply didn't want to risk catching flak for talking to an outsider. And he doesn't think questioning city authorities about pedestrian injuries and deaths is a waste of time, regardless of the result.

"It's important that both the police and prosecutors know that people care about this," Dutton says. "It's tearing up communities."

Photos: Morgenthau from Viewimages.com, Hope Miller memorial from Galvoguy on Flickr.

The street re-surfacing men and machinery were out in force in Soho last night. Houston Street Bike Safety Initiative Director Ian Dutton snapped this photo on Prince Street. Once the street is repaved, the Department of Transportation will stripe the hotly debated Prince and Bleecker Street bike lanes.

Lower Manhattan's newest east-west bike route is an alternative to the physically-separated bike lane that activists have long been pushing for on deadly Houston Street. In a presentation to Community Board 2 in March, DOT made the case that parallel bike lanes on either side of Houston Street is the better choice. DOT says its parallel route plan is based on successful projects in Berkeley, California and the Bergen/Dean Street bike lanes that run alongside busy Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. After extended debate, CB2 approved DOT's plan in April.

As a side benefit of the re-surfacing project, around 200 parking spaces will be eliminated to make way for the new bike lanes. Needless to say, the Soho Alliance will not be pleased.

Jan Gehl tried hard not to reveal any secrets during his Upper West Side Streets Renaissance presentation Tuesday night, but if you took a close look at his maps, it was apparent that Prince and Spring Streets have been part of his team's study area. What are the odds that Gehl will recommend that Mayor Bloomberg try out a car-free weekend pilot project for Soho next year? Pretty high, I'm guessing. If that moves ahead, how would a pedestrianized Prince Street fit with the new bike lane plan? Perhaps we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here.

Dutton says there will be a ribbon-cutting for the new Lower Manhattan bike route at the end of the month.

Related:

• StreetFilms: Curbing Cars in Soho. 

Major public space improvements are on the drawing board for Lower Manhattan's old Meat-Packing District. Ian Dutton, Houston Street bike safety organizer, professional airline pilot and Streetsblog reader has the report: 

Last year, community groups came together as the Greater Gansevoort Urban Improvement Project to develop a vision to rein in chaotic traffic and create a great new public space for Lower Manhattan's old Meatpacking District. Only a few months later -- a virtual blink of the eye by city bureaucracy standards -- New York City's Dept. of Transportation has already stepped forward with a detailed plan that would create a new public plaza, a buffered bike lane, simplified pedestrian crossings, and a new road configuration designed to reduce the area's traffic chaos (download the plan here).

As Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan stalls in Albany gridlock, DOT's Office of Alternative Modes is showing one way for City Hall to take control of New York City's streets regardless of what Sheldon Silver or any other New York State Assembly member has to say about it.

DOT presented its renovation plan for the intersection of Ninth Ave. and 14th St. to Manhattan Community Board 4 on Wednesday evening. Ryan Russo, DOT's Director for Street Management and Safety, explained that the agency is taking advantage of a scheduled repaving of Ninth Ave. in mid-July to respond to long-standing community request to remove the two-block northbound contra-flow traffic lane from the avenue, which has been blamed for several pedestrian fatalities, most recently in February.

DOT's plan also includes the conversion of one southbound lane on Ninth Ave. to a buffered-bike lane. The expectation is that by year's end, this bike lane will extend down Hudson St. and Bleecker St., eventually linking up with the recently-approved Bleecker St. bike lane, providing a continuous bike route across Lower Manhattan, all the way to the East Village.

Russo explained that there are many collateral benefits of removing the northbound lane and reconfiguring southbound traffic. Most notably, DOT is creating a 4,500 sq. ft. plaza just above 14th Street. To the east of this plaza will be two traffic lanes and the new bike lane. To the west will be a single lane for traffic making the right turn onto westbound 14th Street. The new plaza island also breaks up the lengthy, treacherous 120' crosswalk into two manageable crossings of 34' and 24'.

Responding to board member concerns that the new plaza would be uncomfortable surrounded by traffic and that local residents prefer attaching the new public space to the busy sidewalk on the west side, Russo said the benefit of this plan is that it provides an immediate solution and is not considered a "capital project." Altering any of the curbing or the existing central island that separates the northbound and southbound traffic would require new drainage studies, new traffic signals, and would require a lengthy process for funding and contracting through other city agencies. Further, Russo said he believed that the traffic on the west side of the new plaza would be relatively light, similar to the traffic one finds on the cobblestoned west side of Union Sq. Park.

Commenting on the new public plaza, DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione mentioned that tables and chairs similar to those in Bryant Park have already been purchased, and that other programming such as a Greenmarket was being explored. Planters and granite blocks would sit atop a textured surface, similar to other public space reclaimations that have taken place in recent years. Jay Marcus, co-chair of Community Board 4's transportation committee, suggested that a group be created of neighborhood residents and members of CB4 and neighboring CB2 to oversee the planning of this public space.

On the south side of 14th St., the sidewalks would be extended, dramatically shortening the crossing distance of the current angled crosswalk. Also, a new crosswalk will be created across 14th St. on the west side of the southbound traffic lanes.

The CB4 committee was in general agreement that it was in the community's best interest to accept the current plan as a interim step, to be followed as soon as possible with the permanent plan emerging from the Greater Gansevoort Urban Improvement Project. As was pointed out by board members, the interim plan bears many resemblances to the design for the Ninth Ave./14th St. intersection that emerged from GGUIP and presents an opportunity to try out some possibilities before the capital program's implementation.

Here is another, more detailed view of DOT's plan, oriented with the north at the top: 

Ian Dutton of the Houston Street bike safety initiative snapped these photographs of yet another never-before-seen street design feature here in New York City. This is what's called a "Bike Box" at the  intersection of W. 9th St. and Sixth Ave. Bike boxes allow cyclists approaching the intersection with a red signal to position themselves at the front of the line of vehicles. This makes bike travel faster and the right turn onto northbound Sixth Avenue safer.

New bike boxes are also being striped in on Carlton Avenue at Bergen Street and on DeKalb and Flushing Avenues in Brooklyn. Technically, these aren't New York City's first-ever bike boxes. There have been previous attempts to install them in various spots but the design of these new ones seem to be much bigger, clearer, cleaner and closer to what you see in bike-friendly cities elsewhere.

One city that appreciates its bike boxes is London. Traveling on a German Marshall Fellowship in March I met with John Dinunzio, a Project Coordinator with the London Cycle Network (or LCN+), working to build out that city's bike infrastructure. John and his team are big proponents of bike boxes. I saw a lot of them throughout London. London motorists mostly seem to respect the bike boxes. Let's see if New York City drivers do the same.

After over an hour of public comment, and another hour of deliberation, Community Board 2 last night voted to recommend the DOT proceed with bike lanes parallel to Houston Street, to be located primarily on Prince and Bleecker.

The resolution crafted last week by CB2's Traffic & Transportation Committee -- defining the new bike lanes as "additional interim" routes while affirming support for a Class I lane on Houston itself -- was altered slightly. After members of the public expressed reservations about the viability of Prince Street as bicycle corridor, CB2 is now encouraging DOT to "seriously consider" alternatives.

Pointing to large numbers of pedestrians, vendors and delivery trucks, some speakers predicted that a Prince Street re-striped for bikes would be a "failure," a "disaster," a "no-auto zone" and a "suicide alley." Said one, who described herself as a cyclist: "We should all ride our bikes, but not on Prince Street."

For every citizen who opposed the Prince-Bleecker plan, however, almost two spoke in favor. "It's past time that we start taking our city back from the cars," said Villager Laura Tanenbaum. Charle Cafiero, a former CB2 board member and a veteran in the fight for Houston, said, "The DOT alternate plan is the best we have been able to get in 20 years."

Still, at one point the board went so far as to vote on casting aside the Prince-Bleecker proposal in favor of a substitute motion to "reiterate" CB2's position that an "acceptable bike lane" be built on Houston. Though several board members were vocal in their opposition to bike lanes on Prince, and in some cases Bleecker, the substitute motion failed by a wide margin.

Instead, Traffic & Transportation Chair Brad Hoylman accepted a "friendly" amendment that DOT explore alternatives to Prince (though it was noted that the agency has already done so). Some board members endorsed Broome Street as an option for westbound cyclists.

Interspersed among last night's citizen commenters were appearances by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer -- who, speaking in support of bike lanes "throughout Manhattan," said New York's "out of control traffic crisis" required "bold new initiatives" -- and Council Member Alan Gerson, who also favored the lanes.

CB2 ultimately approved the amended resolution with only a handful of members opposed. In a late-night e-mail following the meeting, Ian Dutton, board member and head of CB2's Ad-hoc Committee for Bike Lanes on Houston, wrote: "From here, I hope to meet with DOT to carry the concerns that I share with the community and seek design solutions that mitigate them to the extent that's feasible. Thus far, DOT has expressed their willingness to consider new ideas to make this bike lane a success, and I look forward to working towards that with them."

In other business, CB2 passed a resolution in support of the Broadway bus bulbs and the Lower Manhattan Transit Priority Plan.

This comes from Ian Dutton, a member of Manhattan's Community Board 2 who has been fighting to improve bicyclist safety on Houston Street:

Those of you who have been following the saga know that last year, Manhattan's CB2 and neighborhood residents called for DOT to implement safe space for bicyclists into the reconstruction project for W. Houston St.

At last month's CB2 Traffic & Transportation Committee meeting, Ryan Russo and Josh Benson of DOT presented an alternative proposal for a bike route based on parallel streets, Bleecker St. and Prince St., citing safety concerns particularly involving turning traffic and trucks on W. Houston St. The board initially was skeptical that there was nothing DOT could envision to make W. Houston St. safe for the many cyclists that use Houston St., but Russo and Benson were firm that the reason they could not propose a plan for Houston St. was safety-based and not on DOT's insistence of accommodating increasingly heavy traffic volumes.

Now this month, at the Tuesday, April 10 meeting of the CB2 Traffic & Transportation Committee, the second item on the agenda is a public discussion of the DOT's proposed alternative plan.

It is crucial that supporters of the plan make their feelings clear at this committee meeting to counter arguments that no one favors this plan for bike lanes or that there will be negative effects of removing parking from several blocks. This alternative plan in fact has many benefits for cyclists, allowing for designated space on streets that are much more pleasant to ride on than Houston St. while still creating a crosstown corridor that links to the Hudson River Greenway.

What you can do:

1. Attend the committee meeting and make sure that you voice your support! The meeting is on Tuesday, April 10, at 6:30pm, at the LGBT Community Services Center, 208 W. 13th St. between 7th Ave. and Greenwich Ave. (ask at the front desk for the room assignment).

2. Write a letter to DOT and CB2. Visit http://www.bikehoustonst.net to download a Word file -- the first page gives you some suggested points and the second page is an outline that you can fill in with a few sentences of your own. Then email it back to info@bikehoustonst.net.

In response to the deaths of three cyclists on Houston Street in two years and the ensuing community pressure to make the area safer for biking, the Department of Transportation is proposing to establish two new bike lanes along streets running parallel to traffic-heavy Houston Street.

DOT's plan seeks to transform Bleecker and Prince Streets into Lower Manhattan's primary east-west bike routes. A DOT Powerpoint presentation, available for download here, compares the Houston Street "parallel facilities" plan to the heavily-used bike lanes on Dean and Bergen Street running adjacent to Brooklyn's busy Atlantic Avenue.

Perhaps most notable, DOT's plan includes the removal of 187 on-street parking spaces from the area, the bulk of which would be eliminated from Prince Street. The results of a recent study by transportation expert Bruce Schaller suggested that Soho businesses, visitors and residents would all benefit by removing parking space from crowded Prince Street. Schaller's study, however, pointed more towards replacing parking space with expanded sidewalks, particularly on weekends.

Ian Dutton of Manhattan Community Board 2 has been organizing many of the efforts to make bicycling safer along Houston Street. DOT will present its plan at CB2's Transportation Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 13, 6:30pm at the NYU Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place, Room 411. Also on the agenda Tuesday evening is the Lower Manhattan Transit Priority Plan, a proposal to improve bus service along Broadway south of Houston Street.

On his Bike Houston Street web site Dutton says, "With the release of this proposal, it is evident that DOT has taken our cries for action seriously, even though that was not clearly communicated to us until now. Regardless of the merits or problems within the proposal itself, DOT's carefully studied response to our concerns is most appreciated."