[Photos from Urbahn Associates/Daniel Frankfurt Joint Venture via MTA's PDF]
Screening The Sidewalk Nibblers the other day, that epic piece of man-on-street video reportage, part of us thought it was all just a ruse, an excuse to hit Broadway and shoot people reacting to something. But no, turns out this 96th Street station rehab project's really on the drawing board, as seen from the archi-models above. With that settled, we turn to Aaron Donovan of Starts and Fits, who takes up with Curbed commenter Dave the City Planner's assertion that under the new plans, "the same amount of sidewalk space will exist."
[His] point is mathematically correct — the amount of roadway devoted to traffic will be the same — but his point assumes the fungibility of walking space, i.e., that sidewalk space can be replaced one-for-one by the same amount of space in a median. That ignores the fact that a sidewalk takes you to stores and apartments and the far end of the block, while the median is the place you stand when you're waiting for the light to change.Beaucoup urban planning fun to digest in the links below.
· Moving the Sidewalk at 96th Street [S&F]
· 96th Street Station Rehabilitation Proposal [MTA/CB7, PDF]
· The 96th Street Sidewalk Nibblers [Naparstek]
· How to Spend the Next 5.5 Minutes of Your Life [Curbed]