Pedestrian safety and crosswalk protection is a high priority

A key element in maintaining a high quality of life in Lower Manhattan is balancing traffic flow in the midst of major construction projects. It is a complex task that means monitoring how many cars, trucks, and buses need access to downtown streets, setting up the best routes, and enlisting traffic and transit enforcement officers to help clear intersections and make way for pedestrians.

So the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center (LMCCC) is doing just that through its City Operations program. The City Operations team has spent the past year collecting and analyzing data that show where and when traffic problems may crop up, in anticipation of more than $20 billion worth of construction projects now underway or soon to start.

Double parking, construction truck staging, business deliveries, transit access, and pedestrian safety all are factors in the LMCCC's traffic-management planning. Backed by city, state, and federal funding through 2010, and led by former New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Manager Josh Rosenbloom, the City Operations arm has crafted a three-part plan that addresses construction project schedules, street impacts, and permit distribution and enforcement.

The plan's first component was put in place in early 2006. It is a master schedule of the nearly 70 construction and renovation projects taking place south of Canal Street over the next decade. Using that schedule, the LMCCC team has created a master street map to show where each project is and the streets and sidewalks it affects at any point between now and the end of the schedule. The LMCCC will use this information to try to prevent major clusters of construction that affect traffic. 

But for times when work clusters are unavoidable, coordinating permits among various agencies and enforcing permit stipulations is critical. To help streamline and enforce the permitting process, the LMCCC is creating a Permit Enforcement Taskforce that serves as the traffic-management plan's second component.

The taskforce is comprised of the LMCCC and the primary agencies that issue and enforce permit stipulations: city DOT, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the Department of Buildings (DOB). The Department of Sanitation, Department of Environmental Protection, Community Assistance Unit, Parks and Recreation Department, and Taxi and Limousine Commission will also participate in the taskforce.

More fully trained TEAs will help ease congestion on Broadway

For instance, NYPD will have a committed force of 16 regular traffic-enforcement agents (TEAs) and two tow trucks to enforce Lower Manhattan traffic regulations and maintain a steady flow of vehicles 24 hours a day. Meanwhile, six additional DOB inspectors are committed specifically to night and weekend shifts, when they are most needed to monitor projects that may be occurring without permits. And city DOT will commit 10 Highway and Inspection and Quality Assurance officials for round-the-clock shifts downtown.

Funding for these dedicated taskforce personnel is expected to be in place soon, and deployment will begin this fall.

The third component of the plan focuses on monitoring traffic to improve enforcement and communication. Developed by city DOT Traffic Operations, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) expand similar existing citywide plans to supply real-time traffic information to enforcement agencies and the public.

The ITS program will add 30 wireless cameras to the 10 already in place at key intersections throughout Lower Manhattan. By monitoring traffic conditions, the LMCCC team and city enforcement agencies will be able to deploy personnel to the right place at the right time. Additional traffic sensors, which use a combination of video detection and microwave technologies, also will be in place soon, allowing the LMCCC to create real-time flow diagrams to show where congestion is taking place and which streets may be underutilized.

More than a dozen existing and forthcoming Variable Message Sign (VMS) boards will be part of the ITS, enabling LMCCC and DOT traffic managers to communicate traffic information to drivers while they are behind the wheel on West Street, Broadway, Chambers Street, at the tunnels, and other places.

New ITS equipment is expected to begin going up this fall and be fully active by next spring.

The LMCCC already is collaborating with its partner agencies to implement the traffic-management plan, as evidenced by TEAs directing traffic daily at intersections along Broadway and NYPD tow trucks at the ready in various locations.

Community members who would like to submit concerns or questions as the program ramps up can call 311 or contact the LMCCC's Community Relations Director Robin Forst at (212) 442-3726 or rforst@lmccc.nyc.gov.

More information about this and other LMCCC programs can be found here.

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