Manhattan is no stranger to absolutely outside-the-box urban planning projects. There have been proposals to fill in the Hudson River and pave over it, and even fill in the East River while expanding Manhattan down to Staten Island, to the tune of 50 square miles.
There was even a proposal in 1872 to create a giant conveyor belt-type sidewalk over Broadway, so everyone could move faster.
Well, now there's another proposal involving Broadway.
But instead of turning it into a moving sidewalk for all, it may become a new pedestrian park called the Green Line-- like the High Line, but on Broadway instead of above the streets.
The plans come from Perkins Eastman, whose name you may know from their work on Battery Park and Downtown Brooklyn. The park would run from Columbus Circle to Union Square, and all vehicles (except emergency response) would be gone from the pathway.
Imagine that: Broadway without traffic, just people walking through a urban green space cutting diagonally across the middle of NYC.
Perkins Eastman principal Jonathan Cohn recently said in a statement, "As a linear at-grade park, the Green Line would provide much needed active and passive recreational space in the heart of the City."
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The Green Line proposal is for more than just green space in the heart of the City. According to Cohn, it would also serve as a new type of drainage system.
By removing the asphalt and adding plants for 2.5 miles of former street, storm water and the like would actually filter through the surface and back into groundwater naturally, improving the state of the Hudson and East rivers.
Rendering via Dezeen
The only problem is how to take one of the City's busiest passages and turn it into a park. There are countless permits to acquire and an almost endless list of people to gain approval from... but it looks cool, right?
NYC is trending towards more green space. We're installing rooftop farms, we have the High Line and Low Line, a Bronx Low Line proposal, and more. Why not Broadway?
Check out Over the Past 3 Years, Subway Riders Have Given the MTA Over $70K of Fake Money.
[via Curbed NY] [Feature Image Courtesy Inhabitat]