Source: ZICLA.

New York decongests the sidewalks of 7th Avenue and installs ZICLA Vectorial® system platforms.

PROJECT NAME: Decongestion of 7th Avenue sidewalks
TOWN/CITY: New York City (Manhattan)
LOCATION: 7th Avenue
INSTALLATION DATE: October 2018

 

Many cities in the world are working to return public space to citizens, and widening sidewalks is a way of doing so. But, on many occasions, sidewalk expansion projects mean bus stops have to be moved. This situation creates a challenge in maintaining accessibility conditions for public transport.

Need and project objectives.

The New York Department of Transportation (NYDOT) promoted the expansion of pedestrian space on 7th Avenue in Manhattan, between 42nd Street and Pennsylvania Station, with the Vision Zero project.

The corridor between 42nd Street and Pennsylvania Station is a crowded pedestrian transit area in the city. During peak hours, 14,500 people use the sidewalks of this street every hour, making it difficult to walk. Congestion at certain times was so high that pedestrians were forced to invade the road, leading to severe accidents.

To solve this serious problem, the New York Department of Transportation decided to remove a traffic lane and install protective concrete barriers to increase the pedestrian-only space. This new configuration meant public transport users had to access buses from the road, in poor accessibility conditions.

The proposed solution.

ZICLA ZICLA Vectorial® system platforms New York decongests the sidewalks of 7th Avenue and installs ZICLA Vectorial® system platforms. 1This consisted of the installation of two Vectorial® system ZICLA platforms.

  • The one located at the confluence of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street is 37 meters long and 3 meters wide.
  • The platform installed at the junction between 7th Avenue and 37th Street has the same width, 3 meters, and it is significantly longer, reaching 51 meters.