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  #81  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 3:25 PM
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Skywalks work well in places like Minneapolis where the weather is unbearable for a large part of the year and the highrise cluster doesn't go on for many blocks. I doubt they would work well in an area as dense as Midtown, and from an aesthetics point, they would ruin the urban canyon effect.
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  #82  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 4:30 PM
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Originally Posted by babybackribs2314 View Post
They should mandate the creation of 'skywalks' at a certain height above sea level (100'?) that each new building has to conform too, which adds a small bonus FAR. Then, make them accessible to office workers in the district only. Congestion problems would be significantly ameliorated, as there could be retail along the 'sidewalk' above as well, eliminating the need for office workers to go down for lunch, coffee, etc.
I don't think that helps. I'd suggest wider sidewalks and parking on one side of the street only.
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  #83  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 5:04 PM
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I don't think that helps. I'd suggest wider sidewalks and parking on one side of the street only.
I'd definitely agree with that as well. Streets in Midtown should be for taxis, buses, municipal services (waste, fire, police), and delivery trucks, with a massive congestion fee for those who do want to drive a private vehicle. That should really just go for all of Manhattan below 96th.
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  #84  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 7:52 PM
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Originally Posted by babybackribs2314 View Post
I'd definitely agree with that as well. Streets in Midtown should be for taxis, buses, municipal services (waste, fire, police), and delivery trucks, with a massive congestion fee for those who do want to drive a private vehicle. That should really just go for all of Manhattan below 96th.
And waste and delivery trucks should be on an underground network of tunnels (like Chicago).
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  #85  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 8:52 PM
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As a tourist a few times, I haven't noticed a major bus network. If so, a bus every couple minutes both ways on each major avenue would cut the need for taxis quite a bit.
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  #86  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 9:31 PM
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As a tourist a few times, I haven't noticed a major bus network. If so, a bus every couple minutes both ways on each major avenue would cut the need for taxis quite a bit.
There are plenty of buses, but they don't address the same needs as taxis. Nobody trying to get to a meeting or make a dinner reservation is going to hop on an MTA bus.

I can't remember the last time I rode a New York City bus, because they've got all the disadvantages of both trains and taxis and the advantages of neither (aside from being cheaper).
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  #87  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2012, 11:47 PM
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Originally Posted by mhays View Post
As a tourist a few times, I haven't noticed a major bus network.
NYC has, by far, the largest bus network in the U.S. It has more than twice the ridership of the second largest network, in LA.

Most major Manhattan avenues already have exclusive bus lanes, and very heavy service.

And bus service doesn't really have anything to do with taxi service. They're totally different markets, at least in Manhattan (in the Outer Boroughs, there's probably some crossover with buses and car services).

The bus lanes, BTW, tend to serve long-distance moreso than local buses. They tend to serve the longstanding commuter buses from outside Manhattan, and the newer BRT service lines.
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  #88  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 1:00 AM
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Whatever the case, most of these sites are withing walking distance to Grand Central and its nearby subway stations. There's often congestion on the sidewalks of Manhattan, but it's a big city, that's how it should be. A city with few crowds on the sidewalks of it's central business district is a dead city.
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  #89  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 1:05 AM
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Originally Posted by babybackribs2314 View Post
I'd definitely agree with that as well. Streets in Midtown should be for taxis, buses, municipal services (waste, fire, police), and delivery trucks, with a massive congestion fee for those who do want to drive a private vehicle. That should really just go for all of Manhattan below 96th.
Oh yea, just what New York City needs. More taxes! More massive fees! Yay!

Instead of frothing at the mouth with calls for more taxes, fees and regulations New York City needs to focus on updating its outdated infrastructure. The dilapidated subway stations, the pothole laced roads, sanitation, rehabbing shithole neighborhoods, razing the horrid public housing and so on. Private cars driving in Manhattan without more fees and taxes is at the absolute bottom of "problems" in this city.

There is nothing wrong with the traffic flow in Manhattan. It is one of the largest cities in the world after all and it goes along quite smoothly. If traffic bothers you, move to Iowa.

Last edited by 599GTO; Jun 29, 2012 at 1:19 AM.
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  #90  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 1:46 AM
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Maybe the buses aren't run well enough then in terms of marketing or whatever else. As a tourist, if it was clear that I could get a straight shot two miles down the ave to my hotel, I might ride it.

Darn right there's crossover between modes. Much of the taxi market is people like me (if traveling with lazy people who won't walk) who simply don't think of alternatives.
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  #91  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 1:59 AM
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Buses are always harder to understand than trains, because with trains you can just look at a map and see which line goes where you need to go. The bus system is too extensive to be easily interpreted in that way. If I commuted every day crosstown and knew which bus went east-west on the right street, I might take the bus, but I don't even mess with buses for unfamiliar routes.
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  #92  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 3:08 AM
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Don't forget that NYC buses have the slowest average speeds of all public bus networks in the U.S. Except for the select buses and some express buses, you really shouldn't bother to take a bus in Manhattan (especially true for crosstown buses).

Buses are useful in the outerboroughs, however (not surprisingly). I take one everyday to go home from my subway stop.
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  #93  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 5:08 AM
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That's exactly what I'm talking about. Maybe they need express buses in the obvious Manhattan corridors, heavily branded so tourists can understand them.
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  #94  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 2:36 PM
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Originally Posted by mhays View Post
That's exactly what I'm talking about. Maybe they need express buses in the obvious Manhattan corridors, heavily branded so tourists can understand them.
Where do they put these?

They're trying to increase speeds with dedicated bus lanes on avenues. There is no room for dedicated bus lanes on crosstown streets.

I also fundamentally disagree with the concept of reinventing the city's transportation system (i.e., trains, buses, taxis and private vehicular traffic) with tourists in mind. Screw tourists. It needs to work for the people that live and work here first.
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  #95  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 2:50 PM
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I don't mean to imply that it's only for tourists. Many locals take taxis, and with a better system many would switch to buses for trips along bus routes.
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  #96  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 4:02 PM
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Originally Posted by mhays View Post
I don't mean to imply that it's only for tourists. Many locals take taxis, and with a better system many would switch to buses for trips along bus routes.
See my post above. This is doubtful. Buses don't compete with taxis.
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  #97  
Old Posted Jun 29, 2012, 5:00 PM
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We can disagree there. You know NY better, but I'll bet a week's pay that many NYers use taxis for trips like this, and that a noticeable chunk could be convinced to change their modes.
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  #98  
Old Posted Jul 10, 2012, 8:29 PM
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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/307089970

City Hall: Supersize midtown's east side
Massive upzoning effort to encourage bigger towers for aging office district


By Theresa Agovino
July 8, 2012

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With 14 Fortune 500 headquarters clustered in the office towers on midtown's east side near Grand Central Terminal—the greatest density of such companies in the U.S.—the area looms large in the international business world. But fearing that midtown east's aging building stock will diminish the district's corporate allure, the Bloomberg administration is finalizing a rezoning blueprint that would encourage office teardowns and the construction of even bigger commercial towers with premium amenities. It may also include a proposal said to be favored by Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden: turning Vanderbilt Avenue, the short block west of Grand Central, into a pedestrian-only street.

City officials are set to release details this week of the proposal to upzone the area with 80 million square feet of office space. Sources said officials hadn't determined the size limits on new buildings, although discussions considered expansions ranging from 22% to more than 100% greater than what's now allowed, depending on location and current zoning. The larger sizes would likely be allowed only on midtown avenues and on the streets closest to Grand Central, which sits beneath more than 1 million square feet of unused air rights.

The hope is that the rezoning will trigger the building of enough new Class A towers to keep the city competitive in the global market for top talent and industry in the coming decades. Such buildings could include features like high-ceilinged, column-free floor plans and plentiful sources of power to run high-tech operations. Only two new office buildings have been constructed in the midtown east zone in recent years: 300 and 510 Madison Ave. The average age of buildings in the zone is 73 years, with 80% of the structures older than 50. In contrast, the average age of a London office building is 43, according to the city's study; in Chicago's Loop, only 54% of the buildings are older than 50.

The city's zoning rules determine a crucial development yardstick called a floor-to-area ratio, or FAR, which ultimately determines the size of a building that can be constructed on a site. In midtown east, some vintage towers built before the current zoning went into effect in 1961 exceed what could be built there now. That means if a landlord demolished one of them, only a smaller property could replace it. To help reverse that development disincentive, sources said the planning department had discussed raising the area's FAR to 18 to 26 from the current 12 to 15.

It's possible that buildings in midtown east could grow even larger than what the city's revised zoning permits. That's because there are 1.35 million square feet of unused air rights above Grand Central that developers could conceivably buy to boost the size of their buildings. Rezoning alone would not spark a mad dash for the wrecking balls. Landlords need deep pockets to go without rent revenue for several years as they empty a building of tenants, demolish the structure, rebuild bigger and better, then lease the place anew. Most owners likely will be content keeping their solid if stodgy midtown properties as they are.

Still, some midtown buildings could take swifter advantage of the new zoning opportunities than others. L&L Holding has said it plans to tear down 425 Park Ave. after tenants' leases expire in 2015, for instance. Advertising agency Y&R owns and occupies all of 285 Madison Ave., which is for sale. A new owner could opt to tear down the 1920s-era structure, where a woman died last year in a grisly elevator accident, and start over.



______________________________________________




http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/m...tent=Manhattan

GCT street plaza

By CHUCK BENNETT and HELEN FREUND
July 9, 2012

Quote:

The city is looking at turning tiny Vanderbilt Avenue next to Grand Central Terminal into the next car-free “pedestrian plaza,” under a plan being touted by the Department of City Planning and the Department of Transportation. The five-block stretch, which runs from 42nd to 47th streets, would be transformed under a broader plan to “upzone” office space on Manhattan’s East Side, two sources told The Post.

“The city is examining ways to modernize East Midtown so that over time, it will maintain its stature as a premier business district and job generator for New York City,” a city planning official said.

Mayor Bloomberg wants the whole project under way by the time he leaves office in 2014, and details could be released Wednesday at a Community Board 5 meeting.
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  #99  
Old Posted Jul 10, 2012, 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by mhays View Post
We can disagree there. You know NY better, but I'll bet a week's pay that many NYers use taxis for trips like this, and that a noticeable chunk could be convinced to change their modes.
I'd be willing to bet that a majority of taxi rides, at least in Manhattan, aren't paid for by the rider (they're put on a corporate card or expensed). That's usually what I'm doing, and the other times I've usually got luggage/bags with me, or I'm going to dinner or out at night, and I don't want to ride public transit.

And then you've got tourists, who aren't going to bother to figure out bus routes (they'll spend the $10 or $15 for a cab, because there's a group of them, and they're on vacation). And remember that a subway ride for 3 people costs $7.50, so if you can spend $12 for a cab and go directly door to door, why not?
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  #100  
Old Posted Jul 10, 2012, 10:28 PM
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great news...seems like nyc has been in a booming skyscraper period
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