Renderings of the Future of Fifth Avenue. Credit: City Hall
(New York, NY) – City Hall is proposing a major redesign of the area, marking its first redesign in the avenue’s 200-year history. The proposal would widen sidewalks and shorten the crosswalks to make the area safer for pedestrians.
As it stands today, Fifth Avenue has 5 lanes of vehicular traffic, despite pedestrians making up a majority of the traffic on the block. Officials claim that right now, the space cannot accommodate the amount of foot traffic it sees on a daily basis. The redesign is part of the “New” New York Panel, which was established by Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, to develop the future of the city. The panel pinpointed Fifth Avenue as an economic hub for the city. Every year, the avenue roughly generates around $44 billion in wages and over $110 billion in economic output.
