Reclaiming the Streets
Permanent Herald Square Pedestrian Improvements Slated for 2010

The DOT's Herald Square pedestrian improvements are a huge success. But it should not take 15 years for them to be made permanent.

The DOT reports that because of the City's fiscal crisis and a rejected request for Federal money, City capital funds for the construction of permanent Herald Square pedestrian improvements will not be available until 2008 and work will not be completed until 2010. Currently, thermo-plastic street markings and cement planters delineate future sidewalk widenings. The delay is disappointing because the showcase Herald Square initiative has been a huge success. Thanks to the design, pedestrian injuries and deaths have been sharply reduced and the Square is much easier to walk and drive through. The DOT began planning the Herald Square improvements in 1995. In London, the massive new pedestrian spaces at Trafalgar Square and Horseguards Parade have been planned, tested and made permanent in three years. In NYC, it will take at least fifteen years to do something more modest. Why?

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