Q&A
Plans for additional green space and lane closures in the Port Authority Bus Terminal project area
1:06:07
·
3 min
Council Member Bottcher asks about plans for additional green space and lane closures in the project area. Port Authority representatives provide details on their discussions with the Department of Transportation and community board.
- Port Authority is working on a pilot program to close northbound lanes on certain streets during PM rush hour
- Future plans may include 24-hour closures and potential greening of closed roadways
- Implementation of these plans depends on traffic studies and completion of other nearby projects (e.g., Holland Tunnel Sandy work)
Erik D. Bottcher
1:06:07
You're you are in discussions with the community board and others about additional green space that, additional closure of of lanes that you're you're waiting on from the Department of Transportation to get the sign off on on those plans.
1:06:40
Is that correct?
Kirsten Jones
1:06:49
So there is, a roadway.
1:06:54
We call it ramp g that connects 34th sorry.
1:06:57
35th to 36th Street.
1:06:59
And, Dyer Avenue South that connects 34th to 35th Street.
1:07:05
We are currently working with community board 4 and DOT to pilot a temporary closure during the PM rush of the northbound lanes.
1:07:16
Once that pilot goes into effect and DOT is able to monitor their concern as traffic increasing on, 10th and 11th Avenue with the closure of those roadways, then we can move forward with a 24 hour pilot of that roadway.
1:07:32
That roadway cannot be closed and greened until the traffic studies have been completed in that entire area.
1:07:40
And then, and the pilot cannot occur the 24 hour pilot cannot occur until after the Holland Tunnel Sandy work is completed, which is currently scheduled for Q2 of 2025, because the traffic that is currently rerouted from the Holland Tunnel closures are coming to the Lincoln Tunnel through that that access point.
1:08:02
So we are in talks with looking at closing those roadways, but then the roadways would only be closed for certain hours of the day, which would not allow for greening.
1:08:12
If we can proceed with a 24 hour pilot and the traffic, patterns look okay from there, then we can look into greening.
1:08:21
Hirsch, did you wanna talk to greening?
Hersh Parekh
1:08:24
Yeah.
1:08:24
And I think, if there is a scenario in which the space those roads, access roads, can be permanently closed and and allowed, or or made usable for, pedestrian use or other sort of open space use, we would like to work with community stakeholders to to develop a plan for that, identify a, funding source, to both, do the actual greening, but also do the ongoing maintenance of it.
1:08:52
It is sort of outside of the port authority's budgetary constraints in order to, oversee and and manage that effort.
1:08:59
But we've had successful partnerships with the H YHK Bid, for example, in terms of other open spaces in the community, and and we could, you know, envision a similar arrangement, under a use agreement, under a permit, that allows for certain uses.
1:09:13
It's maintained, you know, by that external partner, and we can work in that way.
1:09:18
But, again, there are these, pre, steps that need to occur before we can get to that, discussion.
