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New York.- The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, announced this Wednesday an allocation of 250 million dollars, which are added to the existing 152.7 million, to finance the first transformation that the Fifth Avenue will have in its 200 years, according to the plan that he announced in 2022 for a section of the famous street.
The redesign, between Bryant Park on 42nd Street and Central Park, which will begin in 2028, will widen sidewalks by 46%, shorten pedestrian crossings by a third, and reduce the number of traffic lanes from five to three.
In addition, more than 230 trees will be planted, there will be 20,000 square feet of planters, seating, and the lighting will be increased "to make an avenue more walkable, greener, and safer," Adams said in a statement.
Although pedestrians account for 70% of all traffic in the historic corridor - a section known for its luxury shops, museums, and points of interest such as St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Rockefeller Center - sidewalks account for only 46% of the space.
The mayor also indicated that the city will begin construction to update "much-needed improvements" to the underground water and sewer pipes, which will allow underground and surface work to be done simultaneously.
Adams recalled that the design is inspired by the historical monuments of Fifth Avenue and Art Deco influences, enhancing the architectural features that are integral to the avenue's identity, which last year celebrated its 200th anniversary.
It is also inspired by other redesigns of iconic commercial streets, including the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Serrano Street in Madrid, Bond, Oxford and Regent Streets in London, and Ginza in Tokyo.
This avenue, with its ten-kilometer length, is one of the longest in Manhattan, it begins in the north of the popular Washington Square park and goes up to 143rd street in Harlem.
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It was born as part of an urban plan and its first section was inaugurated on November 1, 1824, in what is now known as Greenwich Village, precisely two centuries after the city was founded.
The mayor highlighted that Fifth Avenue has long been a major engine of the city's economic growth, which generates 313,000 direct and indirect jobs, which, in turn, generate $44.1 billion in wages and $111.5 billion in economic output each year.
"Fifth Avenue is a bustling boulevard of shops, restaurants, businesses, and tourism, with more people walking on the street every hour than fill Madison Square Garden during a sold-out Knicks game," he indicated, referring to the fact that about 5,500 pedestrians pass per block per hour on an average workday and up to 23,000 people per hour during holidays, the equivalent of a full Madison Square Garden plus an additional 4,000 people.
