DOT Proposes Narrowing West Houston Sidewalks

In its continued prioritization of the movement of cars over safety and quality of life, NYCDOT has proposed widening Houston Street from 6th Avenue to West Street by three feet, and reducing the sidewalk by a foot and a half on each side of the street. NYCDOT seems intent on speeding cars through the neighborhood and converting Houston into an on-ramp to Route 9A and the Holland Tunnelę and doing it in spite of the growing residential character of the neighborhood, heavy pedestrian traffic, the presence of popular destinations like the Film Forum and the Lower West Side's non-compliance with the Clean Air Act particulate matter standards. NYCDOT should be providing pedestrian amenities and discouraging excessive auto traffic.

After more than 40 concerned residents flooded a May 9th Community Board 2 meeting to voice their displeasure with the plan, CB 2's Traffic and Transportation Committee passed a resolution opposing the sidewalk narrowing. T.A. joins Community Board 2 in demanding that NYCDOT cease plans to narrow the sidewalks on Houston Street, and to start treating the community as a community rather than an on-ramp to Route 9A and the Holland Tunnel.

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