Pedestrian Plaza

Usage: Limited

An area located fully within the public right-of-way that is designated by DOT for use by pedestrians. The space may contain benches, tables, or other facilities. Plazas are maintained and managed by local, not-for-profit partner organizations or other entities, such as Parks.

click to see the enlarged image
Special event at Corona Plaza: National Street and Roosevelt Avenue, Queens
Interim pedestrian plaza at Gates Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn

Benefits

  • Promotes social interaction and builds neighborhood identity
  • Encourages pedestrian activity and associated health benefits
  • Catalyzes local economic development
  • Serves as a venue for a diverse range of community, cultural, and/or commercial events
  • Enhances safety by removing conflicts, narrowing wide roadways and/or normalizing intersections

 

Considerations

  • The road segment’s relevance to the traffic network
  • Open-space needs
  • Income eligibility: neighborhoods designated by HUD as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) eligible receive greater consideration
  • Surrounding land uses and site appropriateness
  • Organizational and maintenance capacity of community partner
  • Advertising is generally prohibited in plazas
  • Generally requires a maintenance agreement
  • May require pedestrian security measures
  • Attention should be given to accommodation of and navigation by people with vision and cognitive disabilities
  • Conduct outreach to people with disabilities and stakeholders working with these population groups early in the planning and implementation process. Provide notification of street geometry changes after implementation

Application

  • Under-utilized, DOT-owned road segments
  • Locations with high crash rates
  • Neighborhoods that support repurposing streets for plazas
  • Neighborhoods with active organizations that can serve as Pedestrian Plaza Partners to maintain and manage plazas
  • Areas with appropriate adjacent land uses, sufficient population density, proximity to transit, historic sites, significant view corridors

Design

  • Appropriate warning signs and roadway markings should accompany Raised Crosswalk
  • Detectable warning strips must be provided at crosswalk location. They should be red when adjoining light-colored sidewalks, such as unpigmented concrete, or bright white when adjoining dark-colored surfaces, such as pigmented concrete, asphalt pavers, or bluestone. Review Unpigmented Concrete, Pigmented Concrete, Hexagonal Asphalt Paver, and Bluestone Flag
  • Use enhanced, high-visibility street materials to further draw attention to Raised Intersection
  • Use signage or other methods to alert operators of snow- clearing vehicles to the presence of raised speed reducers  
  • Utilize recycled content in paving materials 
  • Coordinate streetscape/utility work to minimize street cuts 
     
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