West End Avenue is about to get the biggest redesign of any Upper West Side avenue since the Columbus Avenue protected bike lanes were installed. The city began laying stripes on Tuesday over the newly poured black pavement. From 72nd to 107th street, West End’s four lanes will be whittled down to two; there will be one lane in each direction along with left-hand turn lanes and larger parking lanes that can accommodate double-parkers. There will be pedestrian islands at 72nd, 79th, 95th and 97th streets. The basic structure is described here and blocks with pedestrian islands will likely look like the diagram below:
The city expects the new structure, along with changes in traffic signals, will make the avenue safer for pedestrians — two people have been killed by vehicles in crashes on West End this year.
Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal says the project appears to be ahead of schedule. Community Board 7 had said earlier this month that it would be completed before the winter weather arrives. A Department of Transportation spokesperson says the lines should be complete by October.
For several days, the road was completely blank. Several tipsters told us it was unnerving:
Thanks to @pelvis for the top photo.
Correction: We initially wrote that DOT had not contacted us, but we did receive a message from a spokesperson there.
Thanks for creating planter blind spots along WEA making it
more dangerous for the very young and the very old along with the impossible task of parallel parking on what is a one lane roadway in each direction. Of course the delivery trucks,
taxis and autos who are just picking up or dropping off their
loads or passengers while stopping in the travel lane will bring the flow of traffic to a standstill. Of course you can just ARREST EVERYONE DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT KILLS SOMEONE for vehicular homicide and WEA will be safer!
Agree Mark. This is a huge waste of taxpayer funds.
Well said! They are just making it worse for drivers AND pedestrians. I’m sure a bike lane is around the corner
Planter blind spots? Impossible task of parallel parking? If these are really serious problems for you, maybe you shouldn’t be driving (or walking). The structure of West End Ave should be catered to the needs of local residents, not to promote rapid through traffic.
Also, the parking lanes are specifically being built extra wide to accommodate “taxis and autos who are just picking off or dropping off their loads.” Apocalypse averted.
“the parking lanes are specifically being built extra wide to accommodate “taxis and autos who are just picking off or dropping off their loads.”
That will make it really easy for them to hit bicyclists riding up one of the only the only UWS streets that bans trucks… this redesign is a joke and will only create long streams of one lane traffic on West End Avenue. They should have just fixed the intersections at 96th and 95th. Be careful what you wish for……
You don’t think adding a planter in the middle of the street won’t be a blind spot to anyone? Enjoy your traffic, because that’s what local residents will be getting after this.
Joanna, call me crazy, but it sounds like you own a car and drive often. The fact is, most of us in the UWS can’t afford to own a car and park it in Manhattan (lucky you). Thus, for the majority of us who somehow don’t live in gilded luxury, it’s either subway, walking, or a bicycle. If it takes you fifteen minutes longer to reach your Hamptons beach house, I’m sure you can find a way of dealing with it. But the poor people who keep getting hit by cars week after week on West End Ave (without fault) can’t. They shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for your privilege to drive at high speed.
I also noted your snide remark about a cycling lane. Do you know how many innocent people have been badly wounded or killed by cars in NYC over the past 5 years versus bicycles? Do the math…
Some people — even your neighbors — need their cars to get to work in places ill served by mass transit and earn a living. Let’s just hope the lane reduction doesn’t gridlock West End Avenue when emergency vehicles have to use it — for example, when they call EMS to get your head out of your sanctimonious butt.
Why do you hate successful people?
What do you think will happen with increased building activity ( increased population ) in the 60’s and reduced number of lanes in the 70s,80s,90s? Do you think that affected people will be limited to only *rich* drivers who sit in the traffic or …? This is a perfect example of doing something for the sake of doing something without a deep thought. Turning changes in the 90s make sense. Lane changes in the 70s not so much. I’m sure within a few years, lanes will be added and residents of WEA will have to endure another construction project, but who is counting.
I am actually NOT a driver. I walk and ride the subway like the rest of us. And sadly, no beach house either. It just seems like there are more and more accidents happening around the areas the city has made these kind of road changes. It can be confusing to local drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. And especially to those who are visiting our city. I have witnessed multiple crashes involving cyclists who do not obey the traffic lights and I hear/read about the numerous car accidents that occur when the vehicle jumps the curb. So I do have concern about that and I hope these changes will alleviate the danger that WEA has. I wasn’t complaining about the traffic that will come because I’ll be sitting in it, but as a resident. I know it will get noisy and congested. I’ve been through it on my own avenue.
@Joanne as a WEA resident in the lower 90s I’ll take increased traffic if it means the ability to cross the street without getting killed. If you live on WEA in the 90s this is great news for our safety.
Someone once said that the white stripes down the middle of Manhattan streets indicated where the lanes would be *if* there were lanes.
So now that we’ve shifted and redefined the lanes, those who have never paid attention to the traffic laws will continue to ignore the traffic laws, as now indicated by white lines in different places.
Especially since we know, from experience, that the NYPD will not do anything to enforce those new white lines or to penalize those who flout them.
Let’s get those deck chairs rearranged, Titanic crew!
I live on West End Ave and don’t have a car in New York. I used to and it was more misery than it was worth.
I’ll go on record as disliking these changes very much. It’s going to be harder to drive on this street for the many that do. Pedestrian crossing against a red light will be easier (an unintended consequence) and that might just lead to more injuries.
Not every problem has a solution. In a city with millions of people and thousands of cars people are going to get injured and die. Making it more miserable for drivers just seems like a bad solution to me.
Oh no! Change! Must… complain… find.. fault…
RK, indeed!! LOL
Non-driver here….Very pessimistic about this plan. Would agree with comment that it will result in the unintended consequence of pedestrians jaywalking, taking advantage of slow cars. Will also create congestion on West End as well as impacting major crosstown streets.
The planter median that already exists on 66th and West End is confusing. And planter “safety” areas do cause blind spots.
Would prefer to see real enforcement plus speed bumps.
Unfortunately there has been an increase in traffic on UWS as more development, more people having things delivered (Fresh Direct, Amazon etc) and more people coming to the UWS for shopping etc (Trader Joe’s etc)
Since this is happening, I hope it works. It might have been a good idea to do a study on the environmental effects (pollution, safety, etc.) and get input from the people who live in the neighborhood.
Maybe someone could do a study and figure out how to slow the traffic south of 72nd Street, especially between 66th and 70th where too many drivers speed and treat the traffic lights as optional and the crosswalks as targets to frame the pedestrians.
Well, I, for one, Welcome it. I live on 66th St. and the divider they installed on 66th Street and West End Ave. is a life saver… literally. My mother is elderly and lives in the 90’s off West End Ave. and is sooo welcoming the addition.
I believe the “planter island” in the graphic is not drawn to scale. It shows the planter being taller than a vehicle, which is highly unlikely (although anything is possible). Check out the island in the middle of West End near 66th Street at the south end of the Lincoln Towers complex to see what I think is coming. Again, I am totally against the redesign for many reasons. And although I do not use parking garages, I am against tearing them down to make room for more housing, when the infrastructure (transit, plumbing, schools, etc) is not being expanded to accomodate the residents of the new housing. Also, don’t even think about putting a bike lane on West End – bike lanes on other streets don’t get used, and there’s no law against not using a bike lane (and I don’t ride in the city).
@ Stuart… the divider on 66th Street and West End is a great idea. It doesn’t interrupt the flow of traffic and pedestrians are glad it’s there!
While it is important to protect pedestrians, this change is not an improvement. Traffic will back up, there will be more horn blowing and the streets will not be made more safe. Also, double parking is against the traffic laws! Why are we encouraging an illegal activity?
Helen Rosenthal dropped the ball on this one.
We should have smoother road surfaces, an enforced 25 mph speed limit and more traffic cameras for enforcement of exhausting traffic regulations!
As I responded to Stuart… The divider on 66th Street and West End is a welcome addition!!!! It doesn’t interrupt the flow of traffic since it divides up and downtown traffic. And pedestrians like it!
I’ll bet you $100 this has no noticeable negative impact on traffic. Traffic travels more smoothly without constant merging, and studies have show that when lanes are removed, many drivers simply seek alternate routes.
And, whether double parking is legal or not, it’s reality. Ignoring it would be a mistake.
You failed to get a response from the DOT? Of course the prima donnas there didn’t get back to you, they never do because they’re too busy screwing up the city and maybe it’s time we should find out where the people making the DOT’s decisions live. This agency has been running amok for years, we need to know what’s behind its poor decision making.
I’m surprised by the negative comments about this plan, though I suppose I shouldn’t be. My understanding is that the plan is based on long-tested ways of slowing traffic. We are just late to the game here in New York City. I hope it works.
Reducing traffic speed is the best way to keep us safe, since you have a much greater chance of surviving a crash as a pedestrian if you’re hit by a slower vehicle. Some of the other changes should help prevent those crashes in the first place.
I both drive on (more slowly than I used to) and walk our neighborhood’s streets. As a pedestrian, this plan means I’ll have only two lanes of traffic to walk across when I’m going from one side of West End Avenue to the other. That’s demonstrably safer than the current design.
Lots of naysayers commenting here, but I love this. It’s actually going to make traffic flow more smoothly by reducing the constant weaving cars do around double-parked cars and cars making left hand turns onto the side streets. Also, as a cyclist, the old road surface was horrible to ride on, so at the very least the resurfacing was useful!
I drive and walk. Slower cars are probably safer. A few years back my dog was almost hit by a car turning onto WEA after I safely crossed – she was lagging behind on her leash and almost got picked off by the turning car. I have never been so scared in my life, but IT WAS MY FAULT! I never let her lag behind me now. People need to be aware of cars, stop talking on cel phones, stop crossing against the light and respect cars as the weapons they can be. Come on people take some responsibility for your own safety.
I was crossing WEA a few weeks ago in the crosswalk and with the green light at 66th street — and a careless driver making a right hand turn onto WEA came within inches of wiping me out permanently. Evidently, he had increased his speed to try and squeeze past me before I was able to cross.
Also within the past few weeks, I witnessed a driver going north on WEA who was so determined to “beat traffic” and make an immediate left onto 63rd street that he sped up, entered the southbound lane, and nearly took out another car and a bicycle headed south. The driver did not even stop.
Personally, I’d like to see these reckless people ticketed and/or have their licenses taken away. But since there is close to zero enforcement of speed laws and reckless driving in NYC, I’ll settle for any solution that forces people to stop using WEA as an autobahn.
I only wish they would do something similar with 65th, 66th, and 72nd streets west of Amsterdam. The crosswalk on 65th at WEA is like a game of Frogger for pedestrians.
Happy to see action on the part of the city, but don’t anticipate much benefit. Pedestrians will likely feel more emboldened to jaywalk. And it will likely create more traffic, at least at major intersections like 96th and during peak morning and evening times when the streets are chock full of of double parked and standing vehicles (taxis, deliveries etc).
But as a cyclist, I applaud the smooooth pavement. Used to be riding down WEA was like riding on the moon…
This will do NOTHING to make the intersections more safe or curb the speed and aggressiveness of those coming off or headed to the WSH. It WILL make traffic backups a nightmare on WEA in areas where it was running smoothly, even at capacity.
The recent deaths of those on the UWS (one of whom was a friend of mine) were tragic, heartbreaking, and, for the most part, accidents. You can argue about the crosswalk death of Cooper, but I doubt the driver decided at that moment to intentionally run over a boy. Careless, yes. Punishable, yes. An accident, still yes.
Taking the license of any driver, professional or not, who kills or maims a person would help. Putting turn lights and highly-visible speed and traffic cameras would help. Breaking the “I’m not a meter maid” macho BS that goes on at the NYPD (which fuels their reluctance to write speeding tickets) would help. Taking on the TLC and (who even Bloomberg found he found not dictate to) and installing speed sensors and dashboard cameras would help. Any or all of these would do much more than repainting lines.
De Blasio is giving us solutions without teeth — and not punishing those who should be held accountable.
Killing someone with a vehicle is no different than doing it
with a gun, a knife or a fist or any other instrument that
could do it. If you have control of any of the above mentioned you are responsible. If you didn’t mean to pull the trigger or thrust the knife or hit somebody or RUN THEM
OVER…YOU ARE AT FAULT…you control what your hand is
holding.
That is nonsense. The purpose of a gun is to kill – whether in self-defense or for hunting or sport. The purpose of a motor vehicle is to get from one place to another. Getting killed from one is not the same as the other.
Steve, The examples I mentioned were not about their purpose, but about the responsibility of using them. If
someone dies at the hand of another person
there is no difference between a car, a gun, or anything
else…
As someone said we need a bike lane. Get rid of one of the parking rows and add a bike lane. Streets should be for driving not parking.
Personal I think this is wrong. West End Avenue is going to be a heavy wave of traffic. I lived in New York City for 44 years. Leave the lines alone. I live on West End Ave on 66 Street. What the city is doing is wrong.
Best comment so far is RK’s – “change… must complain..find…fault.” Lets see what happens before we all run to the barricades. Its paint, for goodness sakes, and can be redone if it becomes obvious that its a mistake (but no way will those dividers be a mistake – that poor woman killed at 95th would be alive today if the driver had to go around one).
And in terms of using bike lanes, I use them and see plenty of others doing the same. And when Citibike finally makes their way uptown next year, you’ll see even more people in them.
I think it is a bad idea to induce traffic in a residential neighborhood. Traffic causes people to get frustrated and being reckless, let alone adding congestion to a peaceful area. I live in the 80’s and now every morning when I’m off to work I see 3 block long traffic, honking horns, and cars getting caught in between the cross walk making right turns from riverside dr onto westend ave. Also the wider lanes, in reality cars that are double parked still block a portion of the single through lane. The focus should be on 95/96th st..and Police should be cracking down on the bicyclists in the area, you have bikes coming 25 or mph downhill on riverside dr, not even attempting to break, almost hit a mother and child this afternoon, and there must be a bike event today I saw about 30 bicyclists over a course of an hour and not one stopped blowing past lights.
Now that the re-striping is largely complete, it is easy to see how the new plan has calmed traffic in both directions and reduced speeds considerably. You so not need to be a traffic engineer to see this–just watch the traffic for ten minutes at peak times. I think the DOT is to be commended for executing an excellent plan.