NYC officials envision turning Fifth Avenue into a grand boulevard
NEW YORK– Manhattan’s famed luxury shopping street Fifth Avenue is about to undergo a major makeover.
New York City officials this week unveiled a plan to transform a central section of the arterial road between Bryant Park and Central Park into a more pedestrian-oriented boulevard.
They propose doubling the size of sidewalks, reducing the number of lanes from five to three, and adding seating and hundreds of trees and planters, among other things.
The vision is to recreate iconic walking and shopping boulevards such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
“As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of one of the most famous streets in the world, New Yorkers can look forward to a brand new Fifth Avenue that will return the street to its former glory as a pedestrian boulevard,” said Madelyn Wils, interim president of the Fifth Avenue Association , which manages the local business improvement district, said in a statement. “This visionary design reverses the age-old trend of putting cars first and transforms our congested avenue into a spacious and green corridor for shoppers and workers, visitors and New Yorkers, and everyone on Fifth.”
The plan would cost more than $350 million and be paid for through a mix of public and private financing, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and the Future of Fifth Partnership.
Officials said the project represents the avenue’s first major redesign and could pay for itself in less than five years through increased property and sales tax revenues.
But some transit advocates have raised concerns, saying the plan doesn’t adequately consider the needs of the public bus system or the city’s many cyclists.
A public meeting on the plan will take place later this month, and construction could begin in 2028.
Officials say Fifth Avenue is about 100 feet wide, with only two 25-foot sidewalks, even though pedestrians make up 70% of all traffic on the corridor.
On average, about 5,500 pedestrians pass through the blocks every hour, a number that rises to 23,000 people per hour during the holidays, officials said.
“People around the world regard Fifth Avenue as a premier destination for walking and shopping,” Meera Joshi, the city’s deputy mayor, said in a statement. “But its gigantic reputation means the sidewalks have reached capacity and can accommodate more people per hour than Madison Square Garden during peak season.”
The Fifth Avenue plan was among several other ambitious plans for city officials unveiled this week.
They also proposed closing portions of the Cross Bronx Expressway, a major highway that bisects the Bronx borough.
City officials said the proposals would build parks and green spaces on top of the covered highway, regenerating urban neighborhoods eroded by the expansion of the national highway network and suburban development.
“This is a historic opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and reconnect communities,” Joshi said.