By Scott Etkin
Community Board 7’s Transportation Committee unanimously approved a resolution on March 10th that asks the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to study ways to reduce the number of cars traveling through the Upper West Side en route to some place else.
The committee’s resolution will be presented for a full-board vote at the Community Board 7 meeting on April 6th; if approved, it would become a formal request to the city’s DOT.
Nearly 75% of the cars traveling on the Upper West Side are “cut-through traffic,” meaning the car’s journey begins and ends outside the neighborhood, according to a model from the analytics company Replica, which used data from the DOT.
That statistic was shared with CB7’s Transportation Committee earlier this month by representatives from Open Plans, a non-profit whose goal is to reduce car traffic and improve pedestrian safety. Open Plans’ presentation introduced the concept of “Low Traffic Neighborhoods” (LTNs) as a strategy to discourage cut-through traffic.
As always, there is a trade-off in the use of street space. LTNs work by pushing cut-through traffic onto boundary roads outside the designated LTN area, which likely adds time to the car’s journey. LTNs do this by redesigning the flow of traffic, using “traffic calming” techniques such as chicanes (zig-zags within a street that encourage the driver to slow down), protected bike lanes, and reduced access to streets outside of key destinations, such as schools.
LTNs are intended to work without taking away parking spaces or access needed by emergency vehicles and buses.
“If done correctly, longer journeys have to use the strategic boundary roads,” said Tayla Schwartz, a senior strategist at Open Plans. “There is a slight inconvenience [to cut-through traffic] but in exchange you get a quiet neighborhood and the streets become safe for everyone.”
Low Traffic Neighborhoods are not a new concept; they have been implemented since the 1970s, and they are currently in use in several cities globally. The dozens of LTNs already in place in London have led to reductions in accidents, vehicle miles traveled, and pollution, according to a study done there.
On the Upper West Side, where approximately 25% of households own a car, Open Plans highlighted West End Avenue and Riverside Drive from West 96th to 106th Street as a potential opportunity for an LTN.
This part of West End is “a street that is probably overdesigned physically for the amount of traffic that it has currently,” said Carl Mahaney, director of StreetopiaUWS, which is part of Open Plans. “On the Upper West Side there are so many blocks that are relatively quiet, but the street is very much the dominion of cars and not other uses,” he said.
The transportation committee’s draft resolution asks DOT to “evaluate the current patterns of cut-through traffic in the neighborhood” and start with streets “around schools, senior centers or facilities for the disabled.”
A recording of the full meeting is available HERE, with the LTN discussion starting at the 1:03:10 mark.
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this should be fun
I lived on Amsterdam Ave for 6 years, I can say it functions more like a highway than a city street – tons of trucks, noise, pollution, tough crossings, and constant through-traffic.
If this proposal focuses on reducing cut-through traffic while preserving local access, it seems like a win for the neighborhood.
Another “plan” for another nonexistent problem.
West End Ave is already down to one lane, that during the day is a delivery zone for Amazon, Fed Ex, UPS and Fresh Direct trucks. What through traffic are they talking about? Is it going from where to where?
Riverside Drive (also down to one lane) in that same area is downright peaceful during the day with virtually no traffic, except for the very occasional speeding M5 busses that are all bunched together.. The only other time that it is busy is if there is some catastrophic accident on the West Side Highway and then it is packed.
Again, this scary sounding premise will consume so much time at CB7 that there will be little time left over to debate a nine million dollar renovation of a playground.
How else should they go?? No commercial traffic on CPW, WEA RSD and Highway is allowed
Nymbyism again! I guess there is no concern about increasing traffic on Amsterdam Ave? Or for that matter other parts of the neighborhood that are less better off?