sidewalks

Ballet of Sidewalks Becomes More Complex

Jane Jacobs' famous analysis of the "ballet of the sidewalks" in The Death and Life of Great American Cities focused on the interplay of people, traffic and commercial activity in her Greenwich Village neighborhood. Since then, many have done similarly, and maintaining, or in the case of new developments, striving to create, vibrant streetlife has become a watchword in urban design and planning. In fact, some of the major objections to currently planned mega-projects, like Atlantic Yards and Columbia's expansion into Manhattanville/West Harlem, center on the proposals' supposed failure to effectively to create streetlife.

The New York Times reports today in Sidewalks of New York Become Premium Space that the ballet of the sidewalks has gained a new component in the last four years. The city government has been actively promoting the addition of outdoor, sidewalk seating areas for restaurants and cafes, and the uptake has been so great that by the end of October 1,069 restaurants across the city either had or were awaiting sidewalk cafe licenses, up from just 310 in 1997 when records of this kind began. The Times suggests that quite apart from being good for business, outdoor seating is beautifying New York City's sidewalks.

Of course, not everyone agrees. The rising population combined with already narrow sidewalks, more outdoor seating, and new, larger outdoor furniture (the new Cemusa bus shelters and newsstands) is making the city's pedestrian zones ever more congested. Some, like Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives, believe the sidewalks should be expanded to accommodate the rise in foot traffic at the expense of on-street parking spots, while others feel that stationary items on sidewalks present obstacles for pedestrians and make the ballet a potentially tricky dance.

Do you like sidewalk cafe/restaurant seating? Is there enough, too little or too much of it? Should the sidewalks be widened? What other issues associated with streetlife do you care about? Comments welcome.