Group Wants To Give Pedestrian Area In Times Square A Facelift

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Group Wants To Give Pedestrian Area In Times Square A Facelift
06/01/2005 12:50 PM
By: NY1 News

The Times Square Alliance unveiled a plan Wednesday to give Times Square a facelift to make it more attractive and to speed up pedestrian traffic.

The Times Square Alliance, a group which works to promote and improve the so-called “Crossroads of the World,” is hoping to make walking through the area a little easier.

The 10-point plan includes rebuilding and expanding Duffy Square, where the famous TKTS booth is located. The design features a red glass staircase with the goal of making it more of a gathering place.

The plan also calls for creating more sidewalk space and reducing sidewalk clutter, plus redesigning street furniture like newspaper boxes and news stands.

"We don't want to be a victim of our own success," said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins. "So for example, you've heard of gridlock? We've got pedlock. How do we meet all the demands of Times Square? One of the elements of the plan...is to look for any way to create more pedestrian space, while still allowing traffic and still allowing it to be a thriving business center."

The plan does not ignore cars, trucks and buses. It recommends looking into new ways to regulate traffic, including signal timing and flexible boundaries that could sometimes give more space to people and other times more space to cars.

"I don't think that anybody thinks that it makes sense to stop all the traffic. It would just be too disruptive to the city," said architect Bruce Fowle. "But there are ways we can channel it down. We can redirect it. We can eliminate the cross on Seventh Avenue that really severs the pedestrian flow down the middle islands. So there's a lot of ways we can do this."

The plan is already off to a good head start, as the city is on board for the Duffy Square project and some streetscape improvements.

A public forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at 3 Times Square in the 30th floor conference center for New Yorkers who would like to add their input.