Study seeks long-term solutions to congestion woes

Improving traffic flow on and around one of Manhattan's busiest streets is a tall order -- and one that the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) is determined to resolve along Canal Street. To do so, the council has launched an all-inclusive study to determine what the community needs, what car and pedestrian traffic mandates, and how to balance them over the next 20 to 30 years.

To get there, NYMTC launched the "Canal Area Transportation Study" (CATS) in 2002. The council is an assembly of regional agencies and transportation providers including city and state Departments of Transportation, the Port Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and others that serve New York City and surrounding areas.

Track I of the study considered introduction of high-visibility crosswalks

Now NYMTC is six months into "Track II," which addresses long-term transportation, safety, and quality-of-life issues for Chinatown and surrounding neighborhoods. From noise and trash collection to parking and sidewalk capacity, the group is surveying every element of residential, commercial, and commuting life -- including the area's role as a regional link between New Jersey, the Hudson Valley, and the outer boroughs.

A major element of Track II's data collection is community feedback, which NYMTC is relying upon to address priority concerns for the area, which spans from river to river between Houston and Chambers Streets. Initial community meetings held in early June brought together business owners, Chinatown area residents, and other downtown stakeholders for input on the study's guiding themes of mobility, accessibility, and feasibility of solutions.

At the June 8 community meeting at Confucius Plaza, audience members shared suggestions and requests for overriding neighborhood dilemmas -- most of which focused on overcrowding on the streets and sidewalks of eastern Chinatown. According to several attendees, narrow sidewalks are further cramped by vendors, subway entrances, and street "furniture" like trash cans and bollards, while Chinatown's side streets are congested by drivers forced to repeatedly circle to find parking spaces or make deliveries.

Use of subway tunnel as pedestrian underpass is among several considerations

Feedback collected in the initial community and stakeholder meetings is now in the hands of NYMTC and its partners, led by transportation and engineering consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff and urban planners Urbitran. Through summer 2005, the team will determine priorities for Canal area arterials, potential adjustments to city services and public transit, effects of new real estate developments and traffic revisions on area businesses and residences, and other long-term ideas -- all while preserving the natural "character" of neighborhoods from Chinatown to Soho to Tribeca.

LowerManhattan.info will continue to publish information about CATS as it becomes available, and more information about the study and Track I conclusions can also be found on NYMTC's website. Meanwhile, NYMTC encourages Canal area residents, workers, and visitors to provide feedback online by clicking here, or by contacting Scott Giering of Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates at (917) 339-0488 or sgiering@hshassoc.com.

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