00:05How do you fix a street where half a million people walk every day, but cars control most of the
00:12space?
00:13The answer to that question completely transformed Times Square.
00:18And now, Broadway.
00:23I'm Michael Weitzner. I've been an architect in New York City for over 40 years.
00:26And today we're taking a walking tour of the new and improved Broadway in New York City.
00:36Broadway is one of the most important arteries of New York City.
00:39Slicing diagonally across the grid, it connects important landmarks, including Union Square, Times Square, and Central Park.
00:52Times Square was chaotic and also dangerous, dealing with daily gridlock, safety hazards, and overcrowding.
00:59Issues that directly affect businesses and tourism, which is a major part of Times Square's identity.
01:06But there was a big problem. The crowds were on foot, but Times Square was designed for cars.
01:12What if we got rid of the cars on Broadway?
01:16New York is one of the busiest cities on the planet.
01:19Over 700,000 vehicles entered the Manhattan Central Business District every day.
01:24So getting rid of cars on Broadway would be a long journey with plenty of twists and turns.
01:29But the first step was taken right here in Times Square.
01:35Times Square has been known for being one of the most visited public spaces in the world.
01:39But as recently as the 1980s, Times Square was considered the seedy underbelly of New York City.
01:45The bright lights and flashing billboards in Times Square helped to increase public safety by creating well-lit streets to
01:51deter crime.
01:53In the early 2000s, an organization called the Times Square Alliance began the push to pedestrianize Broadway.
02:00The Times Square Alliance is what's known as a Business Improvement District, or BID, representing property owners and businesses in
02:08Times Square.
02:10Instead of asking for more traffic enforcement, the Alliance asked a bigger question.
02:15What if Times Square was redesigned for people instead of cars?
02:23In 2006, the Times Square Alliance partnered with the Design Trust for Public Space to study alternatives for Broadway.
02:30These studies laid the groundwork for a radical idea.
02:34Remove motor vehicle traffic lanes from Broadway to convert key sections of the avenue into pedestrian space.
02:41In 2009, New York City launched the Green Light for Midtown pilot program.
02:46Broadway was closed to cars between 42nd and 47th Street, not with expensive construction, but with traffic cones and lawn
02:54chairs.
02:59The idea was to test whether getting rid of cars would really address the underlying problem, and the results were
03:06undeniable.
03:07Pedestrian injuries dropped sharply. Car traffic actually flowed better on surrounding avenues, and businesses saw increased foot traffic.
03:15The experiment was a resounding success, and it paved the way for the next phase of Project Green Light.
03:21In 2014, the pedestrian plazas became permanent.
03:25Durable stone paving, clear pedestrian circulation zones, and integrated seating.
03:30The transformation was complete, and the newly minted pedestrian version of Times Square became the starting point for what is
03:37now known as the Broadway Vision Plan.
03:40The ambitious plan to make Broadway into a series of interconnected pedestrian and bike-friendly plazas, stretching all the way
03:47from Columbus Circle to Union Square.
03:52At the same time in 2009, when the lawn chairs were unfolding in Times Square, Herald Square was getting a
03:58paint job.
03:59We're sitting here in Herald Square. Herald Square was named for a newspaper, the New York Herald, whose building sat
04:05right across the street from where Macy's is today.
04:11It was a beautiful building, a New York landmark, which was sadly demolished, but pieces of it remain, including the
04:17memorial to James Gordon Bennett, the newspaper's founder, as well as some owl sculptures that used to sit on the
04:24top of the building.
04:26In fact, it was because Herald Square was named after the New York Herald that Times Square became named after
04:32the New York Times.
04:35But these two New York landmarks share more than just a naming convention.
04:40Like Times Square, Herald Square also has a bow tie shape.
04:44This is because of the way Broadway cuts across the New York grid at a 34-degree angle.
04:49In fact, every time Broadway crosses a major avenue, the same spatial phenomenon happens.
04:55Because Herald Square was still part of the same Greenlight for Midtown pilot program, they needed to use the same
05:02materials and interventions that could be easily reversed.
05:05Here they opted for lightweight bistro chairs and tables and separated seating areas with large planters.
05:11All of these changes had a slightly more permanent feeling than the almost flash mob-like approach in Times Square,
05:18which is important when you want people in the community to feel that their shared spaces are being respected.
05:23But the different design approaches of Times Square and Herald Square were informed by different needs.
05:29Herald Square is actually smaller, and while Times Square is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, Herald
05:35Square serves more as a local amenity for New Yorkers living their everyday lives.
05:44Changes were also made to how traffic flows between these plazas, including shared block or a shared street.
05:54And this curved street behind me is a good example of one.
05:58Shared streets don't have dedicated bike lanes. Instead, they allow bicycles and cars to occupy the same space while also
06:06adding other elements which naturally deter driving fast.
06:10This is known as traffic calming.
06:13Curved lanes and objects like rocks, planters, or trees create obstacles that cause drivers to choose to go more slowly
06:22so they don't wreck their own car.
06:24In some cases, they also pave shared streets with something other than asphalt, which visually signals to drivers that this
06:32is not a normal street.
06:34Another crucial element of shared street is getting rid of curbs and crosswalks.
06:40It might seem counterintuitive, but by allowing pedestrians to cross the street at any place, the cars become the secondary
06:46mode of transportation.
06:51This idea of a shared street comes from a Dutch idea called a voenarf, which translates to a living yard
06:58or a living street.
07:00A voenarf combines these elements of traffic calming with social spaces like a town square or main street.
07:08These pedestrian friendly designs have another benefit to local businesses.
07:12All of these design approaches incorporate more square footage dedicated to pedestrians, which often includes opportunities for outdoor seating and
07:20tables.
07:21This is a big boon for local restaurants, much like you would find in a plaza in Europe.
07:29The Broadway Vision Plan isn't finished yet.
07:32There are plans to add more shared blocks and slow blocks to Broadway in 2026 and beyond.
07:38Even if you don't live in New York City, there are lessons to be learned here about community organizing to
07:43make our cities better and safer.
07:45So would you advocate for slow blocks and shared streets in your city?
07:48Let us know in the comments.
