The Green Line of Broadway by Perkins Eastman:
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) student, Jung Hyun Woo, and the principal in Perkins Eastman Architects, Jonathan Cohn have proposed, in an op-ed piece in New York Daily News, a green pedestrian-friendly Broadway, in New York City (NYC). The proposal is viewed by many as a mix between the city’s two previous urban experiences: the Highline of Chelsea and the pedestrianization of Times Square.
Courtesy of Jung Hyun Woo (GSD) and Jonathan Cohn
Broadway by Perkins Eastman is remarkable for its bright billboards and yellow taxis, so turning it into a pedestrian-only street can be sort of questionable. However, the section of Broadway which is included in this project does not affect the traffic of NYC in any way. The diagonal street, extending throughout the city, intersects with the longitudinal avenues forming New York’s famed public spaces. The converted part, in the proposal, shall be 40-block long, stretching from Columbus Circle to 14th street, passing by Union Square, Madison Square, Herald Square, and Times Square. It will be made into a long public park with bike lanes, jogging paths, parcourse trails, dog runs, seating areas, and rich greenery, which provides for an adequate socializing space. The paths will be closed to motor vehicles with the exception of emergency vehicles which will be able to use the green pedestrian route as a shortcut when needed.
Courtesy of Jung Hyun Woo (GSD) and Jonathan Cohn
What makes this project different is that it is targeting a central and vital part of the city and not another run-down or remote area. Besides, the project is expected to solve Manhattan’s drainage system problem, by absorbing the drainage water into the soil of the vast green spaces instead of having it channeled away. That is in addition to an expected rise in property values after the execution of the project, and so it will, eventually, cover its initial cost. When finished, the Broadway Green Line shall be a world-famous model of pedestrian-only zones in the city center, on par with Barcelona’s Las Ramblas.