Canal Street is getting a much-needed pedestrian makeover with super-sized sidewalks

"Canal Street, long a chaotic conveyor belt of cars, trucks and bargain-hunters, is finally getting a glow-up-and this time, it's pedestrians who come first. The NYC Department of Transportation has unveiled a sweeping redesign that will transform the six-lane thoroughfare from West Street to the Bowery into something safer, saner and dare we say... strollable. The centerpiece of the plan? "Super sidewalks." These painted sidewalk extensions will run the length of entire blocks in Chinatown and Soho."

"If you're on two wheels, the makeover is just as sweet. A new two-way protected bike lane will stitch together the Hudson River Greenway, the Bowery and the Manhattan Bridge. It'll finally offer cyclists a safe crosstown connection instead of forcing them to joust with delivery trucks on Grand Street. Walker Street, the awkward slip lane funneling Holland Tunnel traffic into Chinatown, is getting the axe. In its place will be an expanded plaza anchored by the Chinatown Information Kiosk. Think more public space, fewer honking horns."

"Curb management is also getting smarter, with deliveries shifted onto nearby side streets and space carved out for designated loading zones and microhubs. It's a long-overdue fix for a corridor where pedestrians vastly outnumber cars east of Broadway but still get just a sliver of the street. A DOT survey in 2022 found that nearly all visitors arrive on foot, bike or transit, yet cars hog 90 percent of the space."

Canal Street will be reconfigured from West Street to the Bowery to prioritize pedestrians, cyclists and public space. Painted full-block sidewalk extensions and 14 full-block expansions will widen walking areas and high-visibility crosswalks will improve safety. A two-way protected bike lane will connect the Hudson River Greenway, the Bowery and the Manhattan Bridge to provide a continuous crosstown cycling route. Walker Street’s slip lane will be removed and replaced with an expanded plaza anchored by a Chinatown Information Kiosk. Curb management changes will shift deliveries to side streets and create designated loading zones and microhubs. Cars currently occupy ninety percent of street space east of Broadway.

Read at Time Out New York