A line has been drawn in the battle over city streets. On a busy Manhattan morning this spring, a comedy troupe drew a chalk divide down the edge of Fifth Avenue, creating one lane for “tourists” and another for “New Yorkers.” It was just a joke, but the news quickly spread around the world and inspired copycat initiatives.
From Lebanon to Calgary, the humble pavement has recently emerged as new frontier in urban warfare. It is a way for cities to demonstrate their personality and environmental cred, and take sides in the war between driver and pedestrian. But it is not, as San Francisco has forcefully pointed out with a ballot initiative approved earlier this month, a place to sit down.
“We’re truly at the launch of a new science of creating walkways,” said Dan Burden, an urban planner and the creator of the non-profit group Walkable Communities. “They do a lot more work than just move people from place to place. We’re starting to see the sidewalk as a system that drives the successful social life of a street.”
The popularity of the New York experiment was a signal that citizens are ready for bold thinking when it comes to urban design, he said, no longer content to cede the sidewalk to municipal authorities. In London and Toronto, business owners have paid out of pocket to make their sidewalks more attractive and easier to navigate by funding a sidewalk redesign and enforcing an invisible “shopper’s lane.” In a response to citizen complaints, Montreal is taking steps to make sure sidewalks are quickly cleared of snow while Lebanon is trying to keep them free of cars. Concrete, too, is losing favour, being replaced with recycled tiers, tamped earth and fine grain materials that come in a variety of colours. In the future, Mr. Burden predicts the “hardscape” of city sidewalks will be softened with materials like grasscrete, porous blocks that allow natural vegetation to work its way through. The sidewalk may end, but innovation has just begun.
MANHATTAN
What: In May, the comedy group Improv Everywhere spray painted a line down the middle of Fifth Avenue, demarcating lanes for “New Yorkers” and “tourists.” Fake department of transportation “employees” directed tourists to the left, telling them, “You can take pictures and go as slow as you want.”
Pros: Pedestrians were also asked for their feedback on the initiative, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg thought the idea was “cute.”
Cons: For busy New Yorkers, the idea didn’t go far enough. As the Web site Gothamist suggested, “Now we just need a lane for strollers and people who text while walking, and we'll be all set.”
Lessons for other cities: Anger over sidewalk slowpokes is no joke.
LONDON
What: Inspired by the New York experiment, a group of business owners in the city’s Oxford Street district introduced a “shoppers lane” along store fronts this fall, with employees encouraging tourists to stay out of the way of locals. They plan to lobby to have the lane officially incorporated into city tourist maps next year.
Pros: With more than 200 million visitors a year, nearby residents “absolutely love the idea” of a shoppers lane, according to Jace Tyrell, spokesperson for the New West End Company, which represents 600 local business owners.
Cons: The lane is not actually marked on the sidewalk, and is not officially sanctioned or enforced by city council. Instead, New West End is advertising the rogue idea on tourist maps and enforcing it with the help of Red Caps, a group of employees who provide information and directions on the street.
PORTLAND, ORE.
What: Under the direction of the Office of Transportation, 13th Avenue was redesigned as a curbless street, where the sidewalk and roadway are one level but paved with different coloured materials.
Pros: Popular in Scandinavia, curbless streets have been shown to actually change the way people drive through “psychological traffic slowing” making neighbourhoods more pedestrian friendly.
Cons: Short vertical posts called bollards that mark the line between street and sidewalk have been blamed for damaging cars.
Lessons for other cities: Studies have shown curbless streets slow traffic by an average of nine kilometres an hour. An analysis of five years of traffic statistics in one California town found that the only pedestrian injuries occurred on streets that did have curbs.
CALGARY
What: In October, the city started replacing asphalt sidewalks with recycled rubber tires, as part of a one-year pilot program.
Pros: The material won’t crack, reduces storm runoff, absorbs sound and is more comfortable for runners. City transportation engineer Blanka Bracic said public feedback on the city’s blog and 311 line has been overwhelmingly positive.
Cons: Some residents are worried that the product’s uneven surface will make snow removal difficult.
Lessons for other cities: Unlike traditional asphalt, the rubber sidewalk does not require the roots of nearby trees to be excavated. Ms. Bracic said that cutting down trees to lay new sidewalk is a major source of citizen complaints. The material costs the same as concrete, but is also cheaper to maintain.
TORONTO
What: The recently completed Bloor Street Transformation Project.
Pros: The project has widened and beautified the sidewalks using Quebec granite, mature trees, improved street furniture and manicured flowerbeds.
Cons: The project took more than three years to complete, snarling traffic on a major city street.
Lessons for other cities: Inspired by Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the project was championed by the Bloor Street BIA, who contributed $20-million to the project.
LEBANON
What: Last month, various municipalities launched a crackdown on vehicles parked on sidewalks.
Pros: The move is a response to growing chorus of complaints, many from the disabled and mothers with young children, noting that pedestrians are forced to walk on the road because of the popular practice of parking on sidewalks.
Cons: Street vendors who deal food and other goods from their parking spots complain that their business is being ruined.
Lessons for other cities: Previous efforts by Lebanese authorities to clear sidewalks of cars have failed due to the objections of merchants, who were given no alternative location from which to vend their wares.
SAN FRANCISCO
What: Proposition L, a city wide ordinance passed on Nov. 2 that bans people from sitting of lying on sidewalks between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Those caught breaking the law face fines, community-service sentences and even jail time.
Pros: Dubbed the Sit/Lie ordinance, the idea was a response to a recent escalation of aggressive panhandling in the iconic Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood. Police can now take action against an individual without having to wait for a complaint from the public, according to Ted Loewenberg, president of the Haight Ashbury Improvement Association. “This gives police the ability to pay attention the kind of behaviours we’re worried about,” he said.
Cons: Those opposed to Prop L say it unfairly targets the homeless.
Lessons for other cities: The measure was passed through a ballot initiative included in the Nov. 2 election, and garnered the support of 55 per cent of voters. Mr. Loewenberg said city council had originally opposed the idea, which was proposed by chief of police.
MONTREAL
What: The city announced in early November that it will deploy quick reaction snow clearing brigades to specific pedestrian-packed sidewalks this year to keep downtown businesses moving.
Pros: Main sidewalks in the busy downtown area of Ville Marie and the Plateau district will be completely cleared within 12 hours of a snowfall, with the city setting aside $262,000 for trucks and $150,000 for salaries to fund the rapid deployment teams. Michael Applebaum, the city executive committee member responsible for snow clearing, said the cost of leaving the sidewalks clogged is much higher, as it puts a freeze on tourism, restaurants and the retail business. “We’re a winter city. Our priority has to be to make sure people can get around,” he said. “We can’t stall the economy.”
Cons: The city wants to have a strict 24-hour deadline for snow removal in place throughout the city by 2014, but they can’t enforce the deadlines until their contracts with private snow removal companies come up for renegotiation.
Lessons for other cities: Mr. Applebaum, who is also borough mayor of Côte des Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, says technology has dramatically shortened citizen’s patience with city services.Because they can report city issues on cellphones and via e-mail, they expect an immediate response, even when it comes to fighting Mother Nature.