Sunday, July 19, 2015

The new islands of 3rd Avenue



Been meaning to note this… you've likely noticed this if you've crossed Third Avenue or Cooper Square anywhere from East Ninth Street to East Fourth Street of late… workers have been installing pedestrian crosswalk islands as part of the ongoing Astor Place Reconstruction Project





According to the city, the entire reconstruction/reconfiguration project is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2016.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

They need to move this along as this area is dangerous. The corner of 9th and 3rd is obliterated with construction shit forcing people in wheelchairs to ride in the street with traffic and bikes because the sidewalk isn't accessible. It's hard enough crossing this area without being hit by something for non handicaped people.

NOTORIOUS said...

The Empite State building was constructed at a pace of a floor a week. Why is it taking Amanda Burden-Christ two years to add a few cement islands here and at Astor Place? It's JUST cement? Also, it's rather ironic ABC is the heir of the Burpee Seed company yet she is obsessed with concrete.

blue glass said...

the third avenue light is one of the shortest durations around town.
a slow walking person (walker, wheelchair, elderly, etc.) doesn't have a good chance at making it safely across the street, even if they start at the exact moment the light turns green for them.
it is also one of the avenues where drivers love to make turns against the light.

Anonymous said...

Agree with blue glass. That stretch is awful... So many drivers run reds, it's unbelievable. I wish the 9th precinct gave a damn about all of us who have to walk there.

Anonymous said...

If anyone ever wants to watch some epic feats of pedestrian stupidity, this is your intersection right here.

Anonymous said...

Manhattan is one giant construction zone.

Anonymous said...

This intersection is so dangerous. Both cars and bikes think red lights are merely suggestions.

Mark Hand The Catchman said...

...sorry Anonymous @5:13pm you have to add pedestrians to those who think red lights are a suggestion.

...as to why it takes less time to build the ESB: lawsuits and general ineptitude and when building starts it stops when Community Boards and others whine that, like at Burger King, they aren't having it their way

Anonymous said...

I filed a complaint about the curb at the conner of NE 9th and 3rd Ave being torn up for 7 weeks. That is criminal if someone is injured. No excuse! Of course, I left the complaint at the mayor's website so I doubt anyone will read it or respond.

Anonymous said...

Third Avenue is a circus up and down -- they blow through the lights at 12th and 3rd too. What's it going to take for the police to enforce red lights? How about some cameras and $500 fines!

NOTORIOUS said...

What do you know! Less than 24 hours after Grieve's post on the atrocity that is Amanda Burden-Christ Way, there is a Normandy Beach level of construction activity this morning, including a dozen people working on the corner with no handicapped access. Surely a coincidence...

Anonymous said...

NOTORIOUS, stop calling me Shirley.

NOTORIOUS said...

Good point O! Watching this construction project unfold is not unlike watching Airplane or The Naked Gun.

Anonymous said...

GREAT! The sidewalk/crossing construction will be completed just in time for the demolition and construction on both corners of 3rd Ave and St. Mark's and 10th St and 3rd Ave.

Walking from home at 5th St and 3rd Ave to office at 17th St and Broadway daily, I've contended with non-stop construction for 5 years now: the renovation of the Standard Hotel, the new dorm at 6th St, the demolition and rebuilding of the Cooper Union site at 7th St, the street and sidewalk construction for the new plaza, Deathstar...broken sidewalks, street lights uprooted leaving uneven and broken walkways in the dark, unfixed potholes, scaffolding, snow and ice not removed from sidewalks in construction areas, pedestrians forced into the streets - and bicylists inconvenienced by the construction that choose to ride on the sidewalk and through crossings with total disregard for pedestrians.

I can't see that the completion of this one project is going to make that much of a difference - there's still so much more coming.

Anonymous said...

Why are there weeks of inactivity with this project? They leave sidewalks and corners impassable and created a dangerous, confusing mess behind the Death Star. Just finish the damn thing.

nygrump said...

You can't get to Astor Place without dealing with this dangerous mess. It just gets worse and worse. There is just about nothing related to safety. But you know what they say "Anything goes int he East Village". Cooper Sq ark must be the most poorly coordinated project ever, its like one day one guy shows up to move some bricks. the next day, a group of subcontractors moves the bricks into place. Then nothing happens for a week. Than another pile of bricks shows up. Then I see some city-type workers kind of moving around through the now weedy areas not dong much other than moving. I can't even see that now as the sidewalks around Cooper Union have been gone for weeks now.

Anonymous said...

The corner of 9th and 3rd is still a disaster but all of the construction equipment and debris has been cleaned up from Astor Place and behind the Death Star. Still they need to keep momentum in this project. I had to walk in the street with the traffic by Cooper Union on Saturday because THAT area is a fucking mess too.

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't the Post write about this?

Amanda Burden-Christ said...

When the cat's away! Sorry about the mess folks! I've been traveling the globe in search of exotic cements for my Amanda Burden-Christ Cement Park Collective and it seems my crew have made a mess of things. I had them tidy up today.