6½ Avenue

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6½ Avenue looking north from 51st Street
6½ Avenue and West 51st Street in Manhattan

6½ Avenue is a north-south pedestrian passageway[1][2] in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, running from West 57th to West 51st Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.[3]

The pedestrian-only avenue is a quarter-mile corridor of privately owned public spaces, such as open-access lobbies and canopied space,[4] which are open except at night. There are stop signs and stop ahead signs at six crossings between 51st and 56th Streets. The mid-block crossing at 57th Street is equipped with a traffic light.[5] At the crosswalk areas, there are sidewalk pedestrian ramps with textured surface and flexible delineators to prevent vehicles parking in the areas.[6]

Each intersection along the thoroughfare has a street name sign that reads "6½ AV" and the name of the cross street to officially mark the street name.[7] The mid-block stop signs are unusual for Manhattan, and the fractional avenue name is a new idea for the numbered street system of New York City.[4]

History

In 2011, the Friends of Privately Owned Public Spaces proposed the creation of a six-block pathway from 51st to 57th Streets that would be mid-block between Sixth and Seventh Avenues to ease pedestrian traffic. The proposal called for connecting public spaces in the area, that were not known to most pedestrians, into a pedestrian corridor and naming it Holly Whyte Way.[8] The idea was presented to the Community Board 5 Transportation Committee and the full Community Board 5, then the board sent a formal request to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) in May 2011.[1]

In March 2012, NYCDOT announced the plan, with a list of improvements, to construct a new pedestrian-only avenue.[4] The Community Board 5 Transportation Committee unanimously voted in favor of a resolution to support the project as presented by NYCDOT on March 26, 2012.[9] The $60,000 project was completed in July 2012.[10]

Criticism

Some drivers have complained about the installation of the new stop signs, due to concerns about traffic jams.[11] Many drivers have also driven past the stop signs and the crosswalks without stopping, which could be a safety issue for pedestrians.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "For Walkers, a Sixth-and-a-Half Ave. May Take Shape", The New York Times (March 29, 2012). Accessed: July 30, 2012
  5. ↑ City to Create New Mid-Block Crossing on West 57th Street, DNAInfo.com (November 11, 2011). Accessed: July 30, 2012
  6. ↑ "Midtown Mid-Block Crossings", New York City Department of Transportation (May 10, 2012). Accessed: July 12, 2012
  7. ↑ "City Room: Officially Marking a New Manhattan Avenue", The New York Times (July 13, 2012). Accessed: July 31, 2012
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ "New Crosswalks Connect to Form '6 1/2 Avenue' in Midtown", DNAInfo.com (July 12, 2012)
  11. ↑ Sutherland, Andrew. "New 'avenue' a stopping mall", New York Post (July 16, 2012). Accessed: July 30, 2012
  12. ↑ "Stop Signs Along Midtown's 6 1/2 Avenue Catching Drivers By Surprise", CBS New York (July 19, 2012). Accessed: July 30, 2012

External links

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