"Fifth Avenue is one of the world's most famous streets. Yet, for decades, it's been choked by congestion - creating unsafe conditions for cyclists, overcrowding for pedestrians and sluggish commutes for bus riders. That's why Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani should revive the Department of Transportation plan to transform Fifth Avenue with wider sidewalks, a protected bike lane, and a dedicated busway, which Mayors de Blasio and Adams shelved at the behest of powerful business interests."
"We owe this slow-roll to mediocrity to the wealthy denizens of the Fifth Avenue Association, who stymied the 2021 plan and whose leadership presented Adams's updated, car-first proposal alongside DOT this summer. Presenting the plan to Manhattan Community Board 5 in June, Fifth Avenue Association CEO Madelyn Wils took full ownership of the plan: "There's just not enough room on every street for everything," she said."
Fifth Avenue experiences chronic congestion that endangers cyclists, congests sidewalks, and slows bus commutes. DOT initiated a 2021 redesign that removed lane markings and followed ten years of public engagement and 13,000 petition signatures, with explicit support from local Manhattan community boards and elected officials. Political intervention halted that work, and a later plan endorsed by the Fifth Avenue Association widened sidewalks but omitted a protected bike lane and reduced bus capacity. Local community boards are demanding revival of the 2021 proposal amid concerns that the revised plan delays full installation until 2028.
Read at Streetsblog
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