World Class Streets
Source: Public Roads Magazine
Over the past decade, New York City's avenues and boulevards have been undergoing a transformation. What was until recently a metropolis with streets intended mainly to move automobiles now is becoming a city where all users -- bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders, as well as motorists -- are integrated into the metropolitan transportation system.
Improvements in bicycle infrastructure, combined with rising fuel costs, over the past 10 years have resulted in unprecedented spikes in bicycle commuting, and improvements to pedestrian facilities have increased safety. But the need to tackle problems such as inadequate public spaces and insufficient amenities for pedestrians and bicyclists culminated in a commitment to create a livable community. In 2007, New York City released PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York, a long-range, comprehensive plan to address economic, social, and environmental concerns facing the city's five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.
