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The new plan will streamline traffic between Chinatown and Lower Manhattan
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There were several city agencies was on hand Tuesday night to share details of the new Chatham Square/Park Row improvement program. Aiming to create a safer, more efficient five-way intersection, the city plans to realign several high-traffic roadways and create new green space in the neighborhood formerly know as the Five Points.
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| The new design calls for flipping the plaza to the west side of the street |
Located just south of the Manhattan Bridge ramp in Chinatown, Chatham Square is the place where Bowery, East Broadway, Worth Street, and Park Row -- along with several smaller adjacent streets -- meet to form one of the city’s busiest intersections. Since September 11, 2001, however, traffic congestion intensified after the “NYPD Security Zone” closed Park Row to general traffic as a security measure for 1 Police Plaza.
To address community concerns and plan traffic improvements, the city and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) conducted multiple studies for the area over the past several years. With those studies now completed and LMDC construction funds allocated, the city will implement a two-phased plan to improve vehicular and pedestrian conditions unique to the Chatham Square area.
The most significant change will essentially flip the pedestrian plaza now on the east side of the Kimlau Memorial Arch to the west side -- allowing Bowery to be realigned with St. James Place, Division to be realigned with Worth Street, and Park Row to directly connect with Mott Street. The new plaza would be landscaped with trees, terraces, benches, planters, and a fountain.
The results of this reconfiguration, predicts the city Department of Transportation, are more streamlined traffic flow between Chinatown and Lower Manhattan, better pedestrian safety, and shorter bus travel times.
Additionally, a new plaza will be created between Park Row and St. James Place, where the Commissioner Lin Xe Zu statue will be relocated.
Security checkpoints at Park Row, called “sallyports,” will be replaced by Delta barriers and new guard booths. The walkway outside Police Plaza also will be revamped as a landscaped pedestrian promenade and bikeway, using colored pavement, cherry trees, and other greenery.
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| The traffic pattern today |
Last month, Con Edison and Empire City Subway, with the coordination of the Department of Design and Construction, began digging test pits in the area to determine how and where to relocate utilities. The city Economic Development Corporation (EDC) plans to open the project for construction bids in January 2009 for phase-one construction to begin by summer. It is expected to have a 19-month duration, through late 2011.
With the help of the Parks and Recreation Department, phase two will kick off in early 2010 to create the new open/green spaces through approximately mid-2011.
At the meeting, which was hosted by Community Boards 1 and 3, EDC spokesperson Seth Myers explained that the city will do its best to maintain the current project timeline, since reconstruction of the Brooklyn Bridge deck and on-ramp begins in mid-2010. The goal is to complete the bulk of Chatham Square/Park Row construction before the bridge work starts in an effort to maintain traffic flow between Chinatown and the Civic Center.
To help mitigate disruptions during the project, the city will put in place a multi-lingual community liaison, post TEAs around the area, and bring in the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center to help coordinate the work and host stakeholders meetings.
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