Department Of Transportation

July 20, 2023

NYC announces major public space and transit improvements for Downtown Brooklyn

New York City is investing over $40 million in street safety improvements and new public spaces in Downtown Brooklyn. On Thursday Mayor Eric Adams said the investment will be put towards transformative improvements along Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue, with plans for improved pedestrian space, bus service, new public art, and safety upgrades to the streetscape.
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July 19, 2023

40 blocks of Manhattan’s Third Avenue to be transformed with bike and bus lanes

New York City is moving forward with its redesign of a 1.9-mile stretch of Manhattan's Third Avenue. Construction will begin next week on the "complete street," which will span from East 59th Street to 96th Street and include a new dedicated lane for buses and a parking-protected bike lane, the Department of Transportation announced. The redesign aims to make Third Avenue safer for pedestrians and cyclists; according to DOT, six pedestrians and one cyclist have been killed between 59th and 96th Street since 2016.
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June 12, 2023

‘Summer Streets’ coming to all five boroughs this year

The "Summer Streets" program will expand to all five boroughs for the first time ever. The annual event, which began in 2008, closes several miles of Manhattan streets to cars for outdoor recreation and activities. This year, the popular program will also come to Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island over five Saturdays between July and August, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday.
Details this way
April 25, 2023

300 NYC blocks to go car-free under this year’s ‘Open Streets’ program

Nearly 300 blocks across New York City will be closed to cars as part of the city's 2023 Open Streets program, the Department of Transportation announced this Earth Day. This year's program will have roughly 160 open streets, including more than 25 new locations. The program also features new redesigns of existing locations that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists and will "evolve beyond the need for metal barriers." While the final list of open streets is still being finalized, many are expected to launch by July 1.
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April 10, 2023

NYC will create 20 ‘micro’ delivery hubs this summer to reduce truck traffic

Starting this summer, New York City will create new hubs to make package delivery more sustainable and efficient, while also reducing truck congestion. As part of a pilot program announced by the Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, the new "microhubs" include dedicated curbside or off-street locations for trucks to unload packages onto smaller, energy-efficient vehicles or human-powered transportation like bikes and hand carts that will bring deliveries to their destination.
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March 17, 2023

NYC looks to ‘beautify’ 191st Street tunnel again

Two months after painting the mural- and graffiti-covered 191st Street pedestrian tunnel white, New York City announced plans to "beautify" the underground path once again. The Department of Transportation on Thursday issued a request for proposals seeking artists to submit "bold, colorful designs" for the tunnel that reflect the "rich cultural identity of Washington Heights." The request comes after community members criticized the agency for "whitewashing" an iconic piece of the neighborhood, as Gothamist reported.
Details here
January 31, 2023

NYC unveils first restored national medallions along Manhattan’s Avenue of the Americas

The city's Department of Transportation this week unveiled the first restored medallions installed along the Avenue of the Americas on lampposts from 42nd Street to 59th Street. The medallions, which were first displayed in 1959, depict the emblems of each nation and territory in the Western Hemisphere. After years of neglect, the medallions had fallen into disrepair, leaving just 18 of the original 300 medallions remaining. Last fall, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced plans to create new medallions. On Monday, the city installed the first nine of 45 new medallions, representing the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Argentina, St. Lucia, and Uruguay.
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January 12, 2023

MTA to install bike racks at dozens of subway and commuter rail stations

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week released an action plan to better serve the city's cyclists, including the installation of bike racks on the front of buses and outside of dozens of train stations. As part of the agency's Extending Transit's Reach plan, the bike racks will be installed on the front of M60 SBS, S79 SBS, and Q44 SBS buses, all of which are Select Bus Service routes that span across four boroughs. The city's transit agency will also work to install bike racks at the entrances of 37 subway stations that currently lack parking for bikes.
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November 21, 2022

Fifth Avenue will partially close to all traffic on select days in December

Fifth Avenue will be closed to cars in celebration of the holiday season next month. As first reported by Time Out, the "Fifth Avenue for All" initiative will take place on three Sundays next month, December 4, 11, and 18, from noon to 6 p.m., allowing pedestrians to safely stroll along Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street.
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November 11, 2022

NYC is considering making Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza car-free

Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza may become the city's next car-free space. As first reported by Gothamist, the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering connecting the Prospect Heights plaza to the Open Streets program on Vanderbilt and Underhill Avenues. The plaza, anchored by its ornate Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch and the official entrance to Prospect Park, has long been the target of safe street activists due to its vehicle traffic and poor sidewalk conditions.
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October 24, 2022

Nearly 100 NYC streets will go car-free for safe trick-or-treating this Halloween

For the first time, dozens of New York City's "Open Streets" will expand operating hours on Halloween to make trick-or-treating safer for young New Yorkers. As part of the Department of Transportation's "Trick-or-Streets," nearly 100 streets, plazas, and other commercial corridors across the city will be closed to cars on October 31 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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July 26, 2022

This year’s ‘Summer Streets’ will extend car-free blocks to East Harlem for the first time

New York City's annual "Summer Streets" program, which closes several miles of streets in Manhattan to cars, will expand to East Harlem this year for the first time ever. Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced last week plans to extend the initiative by nearly two miles to East 109th Street. On three Saturdays in August, New Yorkers will be able to enjoy outdoor recreation, performances, fitness classes, and arts and crafts on more than eight miles of open streets spanning from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park.
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April 28, 2022

Here are NYC’s new Open Street locations for the 2022 season

More than 300 blocks will be closed to cars for pedestrian use as part of the city's 2022 Open Streets program, the Department of Transportation announced last week. This year's program--considered the largest of its kind in the country--has expanded to include 21 new locations, with a total of 156 locations throughout the five boroughs. All of the open streets will be active by the summer of 2022.
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April 25, 2022

Adams announces nearly $1B investment for NYC Streets Plan

City officials are continuing their efforts to ensure the safety of New Yorkers traveling the streets. Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday announced a historic $904 million investment to help fund the NYC Streets Plan and address the city's traffic violence problem by creating a safer and more environmentally friendly transportation infrastructure. Over the next five years, the investment will be used to expand bike lanes and bus lanes throughout the city and will be put towards the creation of new pedestrian spaces.
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April 8, 2022

100 streets across NYC to go car-free for Earth Day

In celebration of Earth Day, the city's Department of Transportation is hosting the annual Car Free Earth Day, connecting over 100 open streets across the five boroughs, 22 plazas, and over 1,000 miles of the city's bike network on April 23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. City agencies and community organizations will host programming along the streets to promote environmental activism and education about climate change, sustainability, and other related topics. DOT will also partner with local artists who will be putting on live performances.
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April 5, 2022

Council wants additional $3.1B to build up ‘NYC Streets Plan’

The New York City Council is calling on Mayor Eric Adams to allocate an additional $3.1 billion to build more bike lanes, bus lanes, and space for pedestrians. In a response to the mayor's preliminary budget for the fiscal year 2023 published this week, the council said the mayor would not be able to fulfill his campaign promise of building 300 miles of protected bus lanes during his first term due to a lack of funding. According to the council, the increased investment would allow for 500 miles of protected bike lanes, 500 miles of bus lanes, and 38 million square feet of open pedestrian space, according to the Council's proposal.
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March 15, 2022

NYC to roll out secure bike parking pods at five high-traffic cycling spots

Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez last Friday announced the city will be piloting a new bike parking model this spring. DOT will be testing Brooklyn-based company Oonee's "Mini," a prototype of the company's six-bike corral, at five high-traffic locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens over the next couple of months. The pilot program is part of the city's broader effort to expand secure bike parking.
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February 25, 2022

NYC Council approves zoning amendment in move toward permanent outdoor dining

The New York City Council on Thursday approved the Open Restaurants zoning text amendment to NYC’s Zoning Resolution, an important step in the path to making permanent outdoor dining a part of city life. The zoning amendment expands the areas where outdoor dining can be considered to all NYC neighborhoods. The amendment joins proposed legislative changes that would cut red tape for restaurant owners.
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January 19, 2022

NYC pledges to make 1,000 intersections safer for pedestrians

Last year, New York City experienced the highest level of traffic fatalities in over a decade, a majority of which took place at street intersections. Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced a plan to better protect pedestrians, including improving the design of 1,000 intersections across the city, constructing 100 raised crosswalks annually, and enforcing a new traffic rule that requires drivers and cyclists to fully stop for pedestrians when traffic controls are not in place.
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September 15, 2021

The Brooklyn Bridge bike lane is finally open

A long-awaited two-way protected bike lane officially opened on the Brooklyn Bridge Tuesday. Advocated for years by cyclists, the new path replaces the innermost car lane of the Manhattan-bound side of the iconic bridge and leaves the existing elevated promenade for pedestrians only. Both foot and bike traffic on the bridge, nicknamed the "Times Square in the Sky," skyrocketed in recent years, leading to dangerous, crowded conditions.
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July 7, 2021

Summer Streets is back this August with seven miles of car-free NYC blocks

New York City's original "Open Streets" return this August. The Department of Transportation announced "Summer Streets," the annual initiative that transforms seven miles of Manhattan streets into a car-free oasis, will take place on August 7 and August 14. While the city's popular Open Streets program was established last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Summer Streets is now in its 13th year.
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October 12, 2020

New bus-only lanes in the South Bronx will speed up city’s slowest routes

Nearly three miles of dedicated bus lanes equipped with transit signal priority technology and enforcement cameras opened in the South Bronx last week, part of the city's plan to speed up the system's notoriously slow travel times. The new lanes run along East 149th Street between Southern Boulevard and River Avenue and are used by four heavily-used bus routes, the Bx2, Bx4, Bx17, and the Bx19. The bus improvement project is the fourth to be completed since Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his Better Buses Restart plan in June amid the city's coronavirus pandemic recovery.
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June 26, 2020

See the 5,650+ restaurants open for outdoor dining in NYC

Restaurants and bars officially reopened for outdoor dining this week as part of New York City's phase two of reopening. Since Monday, more than 5,650 restaurants have applied, self-certified, and opened their sidewalk, patios, and adjacent parking spots to diners. To make it easier to find which establishments are open for al fresco dining in your neighborhood, the Department of Transportation on Friday released a dashboard and an interactive map that let New Yorkers search for open restaurants by borough and ZIP code.
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January 10, 2020

BQX streetcar plan rears its head, as city announces public meetings and updated timeline

The city is once again inching forward with its plan to bring a streetcar to run between Brooklyn and Queens, a problem-plagued $2.7 billion proposal first presented five years ago. The New York City Economic Development Corporation on Thursday launched a new website for the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) with information about public community meetings planned for February and March. According to the website, the city expects a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on the project to conclude in the spring of 2021, with the final statement ready by that fall. But questions about the logistics of constructing the streetcar's 11-mile route and its growing price tag.
It's back
December 5, 2019

Electric cargo bikes will replace some delivery trucks in NYC

Nearly two million packages on average are delivered in New York City each day, causing vans and trucks to clog already congested streets. Looking to address delivery-related traffic, as well as cut vehicle emissions, the city announced on Wednesday a pilot program that would encourage companies to use cargo bikes instead of trucks to deliver parcels in Manhattan below 60th Street.
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