Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Urban Design

Après Congestion Pricing, It’s Time to Look at the Paris Model

By Aaron Naparstek | Apr 15, 2008 | 19 Comments

Amsterdam Ave. and 76th St. with street space reallocated to walkers, bikes and buses. When Transportation Alternatives, Project for Public Spaces and the Open Planning Project started the New York City Streets Renaissance Campaign nearly three years ago, the plan was to build a movement that would work block-by-block and neighborhood-by-neighborhood to reclaim the city’s […]

In the Heights: City Aims to Make 181st a Complete Street

By Brad Aaron | Apr 15, 2008 | 16 Comments

Buses and trucks jockey for position on 181st Street in Washington Heights Less parking; safer conditions for pedestrians and cyclists; fewer buses; improved traffic enforcement; designated commercial loading zones; control over street vendors; more parking. Those were among the top suggestions offered to DOT staff and consultants last Thursday at a forum for planned improvements […]

Bronx County Courthouse Plaza Gets a Makeover

By Brad Aaron | Apr 11, 2008 | 19 Comments

StreetFilms’ Clarence Eckerson took these shots yesterday at the Bronx County Courthouse on Grand Concourse, where an area plagued by illegally parked government employee vehicles has been replaced by a public plaza. Here’s a "before" shot, courtesy of Transportation Alternatives. Additional current pics after the jump.

Today the Périphérique. Tomorrow the FDR.

By Ben Fried | Apr 10, 2008 | 3 Comments

Here’s an idea to file away for PARK(ing) Day 2008. In this video (which starts to pick up after the :45 mark), Paris Deputy Mayor Denis Baupin narrates Operation "Carré Vert" ("Green Square"), an intervention in which activists re-allocate road space on the Périphérique — the highway that encircles the city — in a matter […]

Eyes on the Street: Get Ready for the New Gansevoort

By Ben Fried | Apr 9, 2008 | 21 Comments

The view of Gansevoort Plaza looking west. The area to the right of the construction barrels will be set aside for pedestrian use. Looks like the Meatpacking District is about to receive its livable streets makeover. The Open Planning Project’s Lily Bernheimer snapped these shots of Gansevoort Plaza earlier today. The orange barrels and dashed […]

Finally, Parking Meters Where Bikes Belong

By Ben Fried | Apr 9, 2008 | 7 Comments

Sacramento sends cyclists a clear sign that it’s okay to hitch your bike to a parking meter. The City of Sacramento is converting defunct parking meters into officially sanctioned bike racks, the Sacramento Bee reported last month. After replacing its traditional meters with solar-powered, Muni-style pay stations, the city came up with this nifty purpose […]

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