The current campus plan is to establish four WTC-site entry points

With towers rising and the Memorial already welcoming thousands of daily visitors, the city’s security plan for the World Trade Center (WTC) complex is coming together. This week, New York Police Department representatives shared with Community Board 1 some preliminary details about the WTC Campus Security plan, and its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

“The goal is to keep potential threat vehicles an appropriate distance away,” said Lieutenant David Kelly. He explained that unlike 1 WTC, which was redesigned in 2005 to bolster its street-level security, the east-side towers are not built “to the same standard” that could withstand a potential bomb blast.

With safety the paramount factor, the current campus plan is to establish four WTC-site entry points, each with designated uses and access routes, for the many truck deliveries, buses, private cars, and other vehicles expected within the campus. The NYPD’s planned entry points include:

Washington Street between Barclay and Vesey, to serve 7 WTC and the future Performing Arts Center.

• West Broadway, between Barclay and Vesey streets, for livery and private vehicles.
• Trinity Place at Liberty Street, for tour buses.
• West Street at Liberty Street, for motorists headed into the underground Vehicular Security Center (VSC).

The entrance to the VSC, while serving as an NYPD checkpoint, may operate independent of the campus plan since it will be managed by the Port Authority Police Department. There also will be five separate campus exits around the site.

The WTC Campus Security plan has been part of the city’s WTC security program for years, with working groups meeting since 2007. In addition to the NYPD and Port Authority, several other agencies have been involved, including the state and city Departments of Transportation, as well as FEMA and the FTA.

The NYPD is collaborating with engineering consultants from Philip Habib and Associates to draft the EIS. Habib joined Kelly at the CB1 meeting, fielding questions and recording issues from downtown residents concerned about access to their homes, particularly in the Greenwich South neighborhood. Those comments will be factored into the EIS and overall WTC Campus Security Plan.