New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Future of Fifth Partnership on Thursday unveiled plans to transform Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park into a pedestrian-centered boulevard. The proposed design expands sidewalks by 46%, shortens crosswalks for safer crossings, reduces the number of traffic lanes from five to three and adds plantings and lighting for aesthetics and safety.
“New Yorkers deserve an iconic boulevard that will rival the rest of the world — and together with the Future of Fifth Partnership, we’re going to deliver just that,” said Adams. “Right now, 70% of the people on Fifth Avenue are pedestrians, but they can only utilize less than half the space. On the holidays, that’s 23,000 people every hour — 4,000 more than a packed MSG — cramming like sardines into constrained sidewalks. That makes no sense — so we’re going to flip the script.”…