WHEREAS, Broadway disrupts the street grid, creating complicated intersections; and

WHEREAS, At Herald Square, Broadway competes for green signal time with Sixth Avenue and 34th Street, creating significant delays on both thoroughfares; and

WHEREAS, At the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue at Times Square, extra-wide crossings require long red lights while pedestrians clear intersections, thereby causing traffic delays; and

WHEREAS, Traffic makes it nearly impossible for emergency vehicles to get through Times and Herald Squares; and

WHEREAS, Over 356,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square daily and, although there are 4.5 times as many people as there are vehicles, only 11% of the space currently is allocated to pedestrians; and

WHEREAS, Broadway had one of Manhattan's worst safety records from 1998 to 2007, and Broadway at Times Square averages 137% more pedestrian accidents than at other avenues in the area; and

WHEREAS, Targeted traffic improvements of this pilot program will maximize throughput and reduce congestion on the avenues by increasing signal time; and

WHEREAS, Targeted improvements to Herald Square and Times Square will reduce pedestrian accidents on Broadway by expanding the space available for pedestrians; and

WHERAS, A fire lane will be maintained at all times down Broadway in this pilot program, thereby improving emergency response times; and

WHEREAS, Over three acres of new open space will be added to midtown Manhattan in this pilot program, with greenery added at 24 locations; and

WHEREAS, The DOT will utilize in-house staff and resources to complete this project this year quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively at an estimated cost of $1.5 million; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board 5 approves the DOT "Green Light for Midtown" Pilot Program because of the improvements it is expected to deliver to midtown Manhattan in terms of upgraded streetscapes, reduced traffic congestion and more room for pedestrians, but with the understanding that all of the following concerns and issues are to be addressed by the DOT in implementing and continuing this program:

The above resolution passed with a vote of 28 in favor, 7 opposed, 2 abstaining.

WHEREAS, The block bounded by Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas and West 56th and West 57th Streets, although in a mostly commercial and business district, contains a number of residential buildings; and

WHEREAS, There are presently no locations at the westerly end of said block where automobiles are permitted to stand for purposes of loading and unloading packages and dropping off or picking up passengers; and

WHEREAS, Such an area is desired by the residents of said block to allow for safe and convenient access to their homes; and

WHEREAS, It would be impractical to permit standing on the West 57th Street or Avenue of the Americas sides of the block due to New York City Transit bus stops and the substantial traffic flow on those avenues; and

WHEREAS, Members of the public have requested that the New York City Department of Transportation review the no-parking and no-standing regulations that currently affect the northern side of West 56th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas, in order to determine whether such regulations could be modified to permit parking and/or standing of passenger vehicles during certain hours or on certain days; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the request that the New York City Department of Transportation review the parking and standing regulations on West 56th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas.

WHEREAS, It has been observed that limousine vehicles are being parked or idled on many streets throughout midtown Manhattan, particularly on the streets between 59th and 56th Streets from 8th Avenue to Lexington Avenue; and

WHEREAS, Many of these limousine vehicles are parked illegally inasmuch as they are occupying zones during the hours of 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays that are designated as No Standing during these hours; and

WHEREAS, Such parking, in addition to being a violation, impedes traffic exiting the Central Business District of Manhattan during the evening 'rush hours'; and

WHEREAS, There are several other locations throughout midtown Manhattan where such violations are being observed to occur on a regular basis; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board 5 recommends more consistent and rigorous enforcement of these parking violations and calls on:

• the New York City Department of Transportation to review the effectiveness of current parking regulations as they pertain to limousine vehicles and to consider a fare-paying approach for legal limousine parking in various locations throughout the midtown area;
• the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to increase both its enforcement staff and the level of fines for citations that its enforcement agents may issue to violators; and
• the NYPD, particularly the Midtown North Precinct, to assist and support the TLC in carrying out its enforcement of parking violations by limousine vehicles throughout midtown Manhattan.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 27 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining.

WHEREAS, From Madison Avenue to Lexington Avenue between 23rd Street and 33rd Street, there currently is a significant amount of side street parking available for commercial vehicles and many, if not most, buildings on Park Avenue South have freight entrances on these side streets; and

WHEREAS, There is an increasing number of destination retailers and restaurants on or just off Park Avenue South between 23rd Street and 33rd Street; and

WHEREAS, There are only a limited number of garages from Madison Avenue to Lexington Avenue between 23rd Street and 33rd Street; and

WHEREAS, There currently is no metered parking for non-commercial vehicles on Park Avenue South from 23rd Street to 33rd Street; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends that the Department of Transportation evaluate current commercial vs. non-commercial parking regulations on Park Avenue South from 23rd Street to 33rd Street to determine the feasibility and practicality of 2-hour metered parking for non-commercial vehicles in this area. 

WHEREAS, Turning restrictions on Park Avenue South between 23rd Street and 33rd Street have been observed to create confusion and congestion:

• Vehicles heading north on Park Avenue South can make a left turn only at 27th Street and 35th Street to access the retailers and restaurants in this area, as left turns are not permitted at 23rd Street, 25th Street, 29th Street, 31st Street, 33rd Street and 34th Street;
• There are barriers on Park Avenue South preventing pass-through on 33rd Street heading west, just below the northbound entrance to the Park Avenue Tunnel at its south end;
• There are no barriers to prevent pass-through on 40th Street, just above the southbound entrance to the Park Avenue Tunnel at its north end; and

WHEREAS, There is an increasing need for non-commercial vehicles to have accessibility to the growing number of retailers and restaurants in this vicinity; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends that the Department of Transportation evaluate whether the lack of left turn options on the northbound route of Park Avenue South is causing vehicular congestion and determine the appropriateness and practicality of providing additional left turns - specifically at 25th Street, 29th Street and 31st Street - while paying particular attention to the issue of pedestrian safety in considering any increase in the number of left turn options.

WHEREAS, 400 Fifth Avenue Realty, LLC, has received approval to develop the property located on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 36th Street as a hotel and residential condominium; and

WHEREAS, The project already is under construction, with completion expected in the spring of 2010; and

WHEREAS, The project will consist of a luxury 59-story mixed-use building, comprised of 190 residential units, a hotel with 214 keys, and a restaurant; and

WHEREAS, The entrance to the residential tower will be on the north side of 36th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues; and

WHEREAS, Although the entrance to the hotel will be on Fifth Avenue, because there is a double bus lane in front of the hotel entrance and because by law the hotel is not permitted to have a loading/unloading zone on Fifth Avenue, the developer is requesting that a no-parking zone, reserved for loading and unloading guests who will be entering and exiting the hotel on a regular basis, be therefore located on the north side of West 36th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues; and

WHEREAS, This no-parking zone, because it will be in front of the residential entrance, will also be utilized to some extent by the residential tower's tenants; and

WHEREAS, While the official length of the no-parking zone will be 125 feet, its actual usable length will be only 97 feet, sufficient to accommodate up to four cars at one time; and

WHEREAS, This no-parking zone will be monitored by hotel personnel to ensure that it will be utilized only for loading and unloading passengers who are either hotel guests or tower tenants; and

WHEREAS, The no-parking zone will be replacing commercial parking operating from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays in four-hour intervals; and

WHEREAS, The purpose of this no-parking zone is to mitigate vehicular congestion on this block that probably would be caused by double- and triple-parked cars in its absence due to the greater volume of traffic produced by the hotel and condominium tower; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five approves the request by 400 Fifth Avenue Realty for a parking regulation change to accommodate a hotel loading and unloading zone on the north side of West 35th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

WHEREAS, There is currently no street sweeping by the New York Sanitation Department on the south side of 17th Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue; and

WHEREAS, There is currently street sweeping on the north side of the same block, six days per week, but only for six public, non-commercial parking spaces; and

WHEREAS, The current muni-metered parking schedule, allowing commercial traffic only, for the rest of the same block is Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and

WHEREAS, There are several residential and commercial buildings on this short block along with eight restaurants, thereby creating a significant amount of debris; and

WHEREAS, The New York Sanitation Department has indicated that regularly scheduled street sweeping on both sides of this block can be accomplished through a request by CB5 for a scheduling change, including a request to DOT that the muni-metered parking schedule be changed to start at 9:00am so that street sweeping can occur between 8:00am and 9:00am; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends advising the Department of Transportation and the New York Sanitation Department to revise its schedule to address current sanitary conditions on the block and to accommodate current parking regulations by having the muni-metered parking schedule changed to begin at 9:00am and sweeping both sides of the street between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Monday-Saturdays.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 23 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining.

WHEREAS, The Times Square Alliance, with assistance from the Manhattan Borough President, has proposed a sidewalk lighting project which would add 23 new lighting arms to existing mid-block light poles on both sides of 8th Avenue between West 42nd Street and West 53rd Street; and

WHEREAS, The proposed pedestrian arms will be mounted approximately 14 feet up the poles and extend over the sidewalks; and

WHEREAS, The pedestrian arms and lights are modified versions of the existing “M Poles” and “Flatbush Streetlights” along 8th Avenue so that they will match the style of the existing lights; and

WHEREAS, This combination of arm and pole has been used in other parts of the City and is approved by the Department of Transportation; and

WHEREAS, The Board finds that the proposed plan would be an improvement over the inconsistent and often inadequate sidewalk lighting on 8th Avenue and would like to see the lighting extended to Columbus Circle; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Board supports and approves of the Times Square Alliance plan to enhance pedestrian street lighting on 8th Avenue between West 42nd Street and West 53rd Street; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends that the Department of Transportation extend this lighting six additional blocks to Columbus Circle.

 
The above resolution passed with a vote of 26 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining.

WHEREAS, The  NYC Department of Transportation has proposed a new vehicular and pedestrian circulation plan for Broadway and Fifth Avenues between West 25th Street and East 22nd Streets; and

WHEREAS, The existing traffic patterns are illogical and confusing so that it is very difficult for drivers coming down Broadway and Fifth Avenues to continue on those streets; and

WHEREAS, Pedestrians are faced with numerous obstacles, confusing signals and are forced to cross great distances to navigate the streets so that they are essentially discouraged from traveling through this area; and

WHEREAS, The Broadway bicycle lane simply stops just north of this area and begins again south of the area; and

WHEREAS, The existing traffic patterns create dangerous conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists and forces drivers, including bus drivers, to take extra turns and stop for more traffic signals; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Transportation has proposed a new circulation plan which will simplify the traffic patterns by making it easy for vehicles traveling down Fifth Avenue to remain on Fifth Avenue and for vehicles traveling down Broadway to remain on Broadway; and

WHEREAS, The proposed plan will create new safe bicycle route connections through the area; and

WHEREAS, The proposed plan would greatly increase the amount of “safe” pedestrian areas north and south of 23rd Street in the middle of the present intersection as well as along Madison Square Park and at the intersection of Broadway and West 24th Street; and

WHEREAS, The proposed plan makes a number of pedestrian crossings, some presently illegal, safer and more logical in that they more closely resemble the routes pedestrians would expect to take; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five is concerned that there is no way for pedestrians to cross Broadway and Fifth Avenues from West 24th Street or to exit the north end of the island at this intersection and that this encourages jaywalking and creates dangerous conditions; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Transportation will install “hard landscaping’ features to discourage pedestrians from jaywalking in this area; and

WHEREAS, The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership BID has agreed to work with DOT to provide materials and maintain the hard landscaping and would like to work with the Board on the design and use of the new pedestrian space in the area; and

WHEREAS, The new traffic and pedestrian changes can be further modified because the present plan does not involve changing curbs or other major infrastructure in the area:  therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five approves the Department of Transportation Madison Square Pedestrian Project as presented to the Board and expects DOT to continue to remain open to future modifications of the plan as future pedestrian and vehicular patterns develop in the area and that a final plan will be presented to the Board before any permanent curbs or sidewalks are installed in the area.

WHEREAS, The owner of an apartment building at 9 West 31st has requested that the Department of Transportation extend a current No Standing Zone, which covers 48 feet of the property frontage, for an additional 107 feet, to cover the entire property curb frontage; and

WHEREAS, The existing signage in this portion of the north side of West 31st is confusing as there is no clear indication what the existing parking regulations are for this portion of the street; and

WHEREAS, The lack of signage encourages non-commercial vehicles to park in the area while at the same time traffic enforcement officers routinely treat this portion of the block as if it were a part of a No Standing Zone and ticket non-commercial vehicles parked there; and

WHEREAS, West 31st in this area is a major East to West traffic artery and a No Standing Zone is appropriate for the entire block; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Board recommends that the Department of Transportation Extend the existing No Standing Zone to the entire curb frontage of 9 West 31st Street.

WHEREAS, The Wingate by Wyndham Hotel at 235 West 35th Street has requested a hardship waiver so that a No Standing sign may be placed in front of the hotel; and

WHEREAS, The proposed No Standing zone would be 20 linear feet along the curb; and

WHEREAS, The proposed No Standing zone would allow for safe loading and unloading of hotel guests and their luggage and likely reduce the amount of double parking in the area; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Transportation automatically permits a No Standing zone for a hotel in this area if the hotel has at least 100 rooms; and

WHEREAS, The Wingate by Wyndham Hotel has 96 rooms; and

WHEREAS, The No Standing zone would likely improve traffic conditions in the area; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Department of Transportation should institute a “No Standing” zone of 20 feet at 235 West 35th Street.

The above resolution recommending approval with a vote of 29 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention.