According to the Wall Street Journal, Water Street in Lower Manhattan may be considered for an overhaul in order to make it a more pedestrian friendly road. While many streets, such as Broadway, have exchanged portions of the road occupied by cabs and cars for pedestrians and cyclists, the Financial District has remained more car oriented.
However, the Economic Development Corporation is actively seeking consultants to conduct analysis of the street and to pose a more “pedestrian-oriented environment,†including a median, more trees, better lighting and public art. Water Street is one of the few Lower Manhattan streets that has enough space to make this dream a reality. The Downtown Alliance is pushing for this change and had proposed turning the area between South Street Seaport and State Island Ferry Terminal at Whitehall into a boulevard with less traffic lanes in favor of more greenery and pedestrians. The Downtown Alliance noted that the area is mostly commercial and that it empties out in the evenings and on weekends and has little in the way of retail or dining and thus less power to attract visitors, tourists or even locals
“The potential improvements will transform Water Street into an active pedestrian destination for the entire area to enjoy,” said Kyle Sklerov, a spokesman for the agency.
What do you think of the potential changes to Water Street?
