PRINCIPLES + ADMONITIONS Ten things leading artists, architects and planners told us to keep in mind as we work to improve Times Square THESE STREETS WERE PROBLEM: “PEDLOCK” Balance the different elements that give Times Square its energy. FPO MADE FOR WALKIN’ & STREETSCAPE SCHLOCK Recognize the diversity of who and what is here, The streets are packed to the point of paralysis, as well as the layers of history. Solving public space and pedestrian problems in and around Times Square. and the streetscape is ordinary at best. Create places where people can stop, meet and observe. Increase in Weekday Pedestrian Counts Top Five Reasons People Would Consider TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE works to improve and promote 1982 - 2020 afternoon 15-minute peak Working Somewhere Other Than Times Square Times Square so that it retains the energy, edge and distinctiveness Make Times Square a place to which New Yorkers that have made it an icon for entertainment, culture and urban life Westside of Seventh Avenue between 42nd + 43rd streets for almost a century. 367% want to come. INCREASE (yikes!) Look for opportunities to reinforce and 5,600 I recognize what is authentic, what is historic. WHILE TIMES SQUARE IS GORGEOUS from the neck • Times Square pedestrian spaces are insuffi cient up, it needs a makeover from the neck down. More to handle current demands. A people than ever walk its streets, and the demands on Allow for the exhibition of creativity, through distinctive 4,800 A design, public art and small-scale performances. this singular space have grown enormously. • Pedestrian overcrowding produces “pedlock,” Times Square is New York’s manic version of a town impeding movement on the sidewalks, and creates H Time Square Alliance Re-think the relationships between 1560 Broadway, Suite 800 square. It is alternately (and often simultaneously) a public safety hazard. 4,000 H A New York, NY 10036 the world’s most condensed theater district, a booming pedestrian and vehicular spaces. C C CONGESTION! 68% commercial and corporate center, a broadcast studio, • The streetscape is ordinary at best – A H H Think of Times Square as an ever-changing theater set, and an event venue. And while it is spectacular on especially for a world-class public space. 3,200 with both fi xed and changing elements. the vertical plane, its ground plane - the streetscape - is C A A ordinary at best and ugly at worst. Finally, because of • Growing transit ridership, tourism and residential H A G Look for ways to make the horizontal plane the over-crowding, it is literally a public safety hazard, as development will bring even busier streets. 2,400 as exciting and dynamic as the vertical. thousands of people a day are forced to walk in the street. A D D • There are no good spaces for “observing” Times Square. G A C Keep it simple and don’t over-design. 1,600 D G A C D A Design: Worldstudio Photo Credits: front cover, Corbis; back cover, Nelson Bakerman DISTANCE FROM HOME 13% Credits: inside spread, circular photos from left to right - 800 A A D A SECURITY & TERRORISM 9% 1. Duffy square re-design, by William Fellows Architects LLC with James Kotronis, Judith Heintz Landscape Architect, Kugler Architects Associates; 4. Tibor Kalman, Everybody, The 42nd Street CHOICE OF RETAIL 6% G H C A Art Project, photo by Maggie Hopp, courtesy of Creative Time; 5. 42nd Streets Studios, CHOICE OF RESTAURANTS 4% by Platt, Byard & Duvell Architects; 6. Bus Shelter, by Cemusa; 8. Madison Avenue BID news boxes, A H E by Karim Rashid 1982A 2003 2012 2020 Streetscape of shame: proliferating news boxes, fortress-like planters, ugly newsstands and unregulated vendors. Source: Philip Habib Assoicates Source: Survey of 2,350 Times Square Employees SMART, SNAPPY SOLUTIONS Ten down-to-earth things to start doing now. Build the award-winning design “Wire” the bowtie by placing power Design creative multifunctional Create spaces throughout the Encourage and recognize higher Enliven the horizontal plane Explore zoning regulations to Develop multiboxes to relieve Better regulate the number, for Duffy Square. and sound cables underground as is done bollards for the Times Square area. district for public art and performance. quality design throughout the district, with distincitve street furniture that encourage new design approaches. sidewalk clutter. and look of street vendor stands. near Times Square Studios. like the New 42nd Street Studios. is unique to TImes Square. TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE partnered with the Design BOWTIE SOLUTIONS DISTRICTWIDE SOLUTIONS Trust for Public Space to undertake a series of workshops Extend the sidewalks Eliminate the crossover Create crosswalks with creative and thoughtful people who care deeply Expand and rebuild Duffy Square to create a central to create maximum between Broadway and connecting the Explore enlivening the horizontal plane by enhancing THE BOWTIE THE DISTRICT ���������������� pedestrian space. Seventh Avenue to balance traffi c islands to make a �������� about this area. The group worked to identify what has gathering place, distinguished by iconic architecture that sidewalks or streets using high-quality, distinctive ������������� traffi c and allow for pedestrian passageway. �������������� been thrilling about the world’s best-known public space, will set the standard for rest of the ground plane. materials where practical. Redesign street furniture. Indicates proposed 50% more sidewalk space. and then thought about how to celebrate and preserve sidewalk expansion. that spirit in a list of key recommendations. Alter the center islands to create 50% more sidewalk Encourage and recognize good design in buildings, ���������������� space, places for observation, temporary public art, and signs and public spaces to enhance the street-level NORTHERN Although the workshops focused on the Bowtie, many greater security standoff. experience for pedestrians. DISTRICT �������� recommendations addressed issues that challenge ������������� ������������� ������������� the entire Times Square district. The districtwide Investigate new ways to regulate traffi c. Include revised Look at ways in which zoning regulations CORRIDOR EIGHTH AVENUE recommendations will complement changes in the Bowtie signal timing, temporary or partial street closings, and can be modifi ed to embrace new technologies and to �������������� RESTAURANT BOWTIE and would create a dynamic vocabulary that recognizes fl exible boundaries between vehicles and pedestrians. �������������� enliven Times Square’s perimeter. ROW each area’s distinctiveness, while also establishing a coherent design for the district. “Wire” the Bowtie to allow broadcasters and event Design security elements that are creative, ���������������� organizers to “plug in” to different spots and create ������������ aesthetically pleasing and appropriate to Times Square. conduits for security technology and elements as needed. Reduce sidewalk clutter by eliminating excess street 42ND STREET Create continuous Provide spaces and opportunities for public art and furniture and regulating vending, so that it can CORRIDOR �������������� ���������������� ������������� ������������ north-south pedestrian ������������ ����������� small-scale performance that reinforce Times Square’s �������� still exist here, but better refl ect the best of New York. �������� passageway. ������������� ������������� creativity, energy and edge. ������������� ����������������.