New Public Space at Madison Square

Combined with New Plazas on Broadway between Times Square and Herald Square, 65,000 Square Feet of Broadway has been Converted for Pedestrian, Bicycle Use.
(Photo Credit: Spenser T Tucker)

Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Transportation unveiled 41,700 square feet of new public space at Madison Square, bringing new, landscaped pedestrian plazas, bicycle lanes and a safer and simpler traffic pattern at Broadway from 25th to 22nd Streets - one of the largest non-park public space projects undertaken by the Bloomberg Administration.

Together with new plazas between Times Square and Herald Square, the projects have converted over 65,000 square feet of former roadbed along Broadway to enhance public life and create a more livable city.

The spaces have already filled with pedestrians, tourists, people-watchers and nearby employees and residents enjoying lunch. Citywide, combining all public plazas, medians, bike lanes and other public space projects completed or now in progress, the City has converted 49 acres of former vehicle space for other uses in the last year-an area nearly four times the size of the open space of Central Park's Great Lawn.

The space at Madison Square will complement adjacent Madison Square Park, providing seating at tables and chairs beneath umbrellas. The work, which started in June, also simplifies the crosscurrents of pedestrians, bicyclists, buses and other vehicles.

At the project's center, a significant new plaza in the shape of the Flatiron Building offers over 16,000 square feet of space from which to view one of the world's most photographed landmarks. On Broadway between 22nd and 23rd streets, the two lanes of roadway adjacent to the Flatiron Building have been made into a plaza furnished with seating and tables.