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Bloomberg Seeking Ped Plaza on Vanderbilt Ave Outside of Grand Central

Guest Lance

By Guest Lance,
in Roads, Bridges and Tunnels

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Guest Lance

Guest Lance

Posted
Posted

It looks like King Bloomberg is at it again. This time, his sights are on the entire stretch of Vanderbilt Avenue between 42nd and 47th Streets.

 

Story: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/07/09/here-he-goes-again-bloomberg-wants-pedestrian-mall-on-vanderbilt-near-grand-central/

 

Did someone forget to tell this guy that the road is meant for vehicles to travel across. You know, the ones of the two and four wheeled variety. It isn't supposed to be a place for little tables and chairs and picnic spots. If his "majesty" wants people to have a place to sit and enjoy themselves, tell them to go to the damn park. By the way, isn't Bryant Park a couple of blocks away. He really needs to stop reclassifying roads as parks. Yes, New York is a very urban place (for the most part; Staten Islanders, sit down), but I don't think we need to sacrifice every other roadway for "green space".

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Via Garibaldi 8

Via Garibaldi 8

Posted
Posted

I think what should be done is to have more commercial space offer green spaces. Last night I just missed my BxM2 to Riverdale and had to wait 30 mins for the next one and I was thinking, boy it would be nice to have a space to sit and relax while I wait and I didn't mean a park either, because Bryant Park was a 4 block walk away, but it is overcrowded at times so I didn't even bother walking over there. I think Bloomberg is out to lunch as usual. It would be a bad idea to close Vanderbilt because it gets decent usage and is needed for folks that need to get to and from Grand Central via car or taxi. Madison Avenue and 5th are already bad enough. This would clog up traffic even more, so in sum, do we need more green space? I would say yes, but not at the expense of having more streets closed down and used for it.

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Amtrak7

Amtrak7

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Normally I'm against road closures, but I'm totally fine with road closures that allow cross traffic, temporary or permanent.

 

But pedestrian malls should become transit malls. The Fulton Street model is perfect to use in Midtown/Queens/etc. (buses day, deliveries night)

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  • 2 weeks later...
CPBO

CPBO

Posted
Posted

This is Bloomturds way of getting back cause he lost the congestion pricing....he will be like see we need it.....can't wait for this jerk to be out of office.....hope the next mayor restores order!!!.......

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mark1447

mark1447

Posted
Posted

He needs the out. How many got damn Plazas are we going to have? Traffic is a mess in Manhattan. Sure it would offer walk room, but so what? We already got sidewalks. If there's a capacity issue, then maybe expand it, but if its not needed, then dont do it. I see a lot more car traffic on Vanderbilt Ave compared to Ped Traffic.

 

Slightly off. For the use of Mass Transit as an alternative, I'm against it partly. I understand they want people to use trains, buses, ferries, bike, walk etc as an alternative to Road transportation, but there are people who don't want to use Mass Transit. Folks rather just ride str8 from the job or place to/from home, with no need to deal with crowds and possible delays in the system. If they wish to control traffic in midtown, I suggest the Mid-Manhattan Expressway.

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NX Express

NX Express

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Posted

It has been proven that adding more highways does nothing to improve congestion - the congestion will decrease right after the new highway opens, and then new drivers (former mass transit riders) will decide that they can now afford (time-wise) to drive on the highway, increasing congestion back to former levels.

 

In other words, more highways does nothing. Mass transit is more efficient.

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N6 Limited

N6 Limited

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More highways/roads/crossings helps somewhat. Imagine Bronx-Queens congestion if the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges didn't exist.

 

Mass transit only works in certain circumstances. Everyone is not going to and from Manhattan, some just want to get between LI and NJ, LI and Westchester, Etc.

 

If I want to drive to a friend's place in the Bronx from eastern Queens , it would take about 20 mins or so. By Transit it takes about 2 hours. For many cars on the road, a trip via transit isn't feasible.

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67thAve

67thAve

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Perhaps Bloomberg should begin building pedestrian bridges/viaducts above existing roads (but not above all of the lanes, only one or two). This way you have less fatalities from crossing streets and little to no traffic interuptions (excluding during construction).

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KeystoneRegional

KeystoneRegional

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Okay, I would give applause to Bloomberg on the Times Square Ped Plaza, it has worked, however the Herald Square and Union Square Ped Plaza hasn't really worked, it had lengthened my commute on the roads a bit and really this Vanderbilt Ave. Ped Plaza would cause choas and havoc on 42nd Street. and other nearby streets. Ped Plazas have it's benefits but really NYC doesn't need any more of it.

 

Well, then you have the mass transit arguement, and you might ask me to take rail or bus from geographical Long Island (including Queens/Brooklyn) to New Jersey. Well, truth is, mass transit only works for certain purposes, mainly commute, a doctor's appointment or a night out at the bar or such, but the train and some buses doesn't have a trunk to fit the stuff I get from Costco and then an errand at the Garden State Plaza. If I did it with mass transit, I expect adding 3-4 hours to my run, the car cuts the 3-4 unneeded hours. You might say it's unreasonable, a car cuts my time to Manhattan in 1/2, my travel time to New Jersey by 75%, plus the 30 minutes room I usually leave for bus schedules, and the slow trip on many buses that needs to serve the many commuities it needs to serve in order to be sustainable.

 

Really, car commutes is a must in many purposes, and without a car, my travels to my uncle's Pocono house, the Woodbury Premium Outlets and the Apple Picking Farms wouldn't be as fast and easy. A car shouldn't be count as a premium to mass transit, it should be counted as an useful tool and reasonable transit option. And really, my idea of reactivating the Mid-Manhattan Expressway project would really get many cars off the current local streets in the hustling and bustling Manhattan.

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N6 Limited

N6 Limited

Posted
Posted

I agree with most of what KeystoneRegional has said.

And really, my idea of reactivating the Mid-Manhattan Expressway project would really get many cars off the current local streets in the hustling and bustling Manhattan.

 

 

Right, there were times I drove through Manhattan to get to NJ, I'd rather not have to drive across on the surface streets, I just wanted to get to the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels, an Expressway would have been preferable.

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KeystoneRegional

KeystoneRegional

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I agree with most of what KeystoneRegional has said.

 

 

Right, there were times I drove through Manhattan to get to NJ, I'd rather not have to drive across on the surface streets, I just wanted to get to the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels, an Expressway would have been preferable.

 

 

Same for me and many other crosstown travellers who are not interested on viewing the buildings and Manhattan streets, especially going past 5th Ave's headache sections in Midtown.

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