redesign Ninth Avenue<\/a> in Hell\u2019s Kitchen to help prepare for crowds related to the world-famous soccer tournament.<\/p>\nCiti Bike station to take over roadway to give more pedestrian space<\/p>\n
As part of the Lower Manhattan redesign, NYC DOT will also relocate an existing Citi Bike station on the heavily trafficked sidewalk of Lafayette Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets, into the roadway nearby to expand pedestrian space while aiming to reduce sidewalk riding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The upgrade aims to make a seamless commute for cyclists with a two-way connection from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Flatiron District, via Lafayette and Centre streets and as Fourth Avenue flows up into Broadway.<\/p>\n
![\"map](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774457594_700_unnamed-1-1.jpg\" "\\"More")
Map of pedestrian and cycling safety upgrades presented to Community Board 2 Tuesday evening to help prepare for World Cup crowds at popular destinations like Union Square and Astor Place.Credit: NYC DOT<\/p>\n
NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said the road changes will take place this spring and will expand many sidewalks near Union Square while improving \u201csafety for everyone on the street.\u201d Key improvements will be completed ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese world-renowned destinations draw thousands of visitors on a given day and are expected to see increases this summer as the World Cup begins,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cThis plan will deliver a host of upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists from the East Village to Madison Square, improving safety and creating a more welcoming experience for pedestrians.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commissioner added that Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants the agency to act \u201cwith urgency\u201d to redesign the streets.\n<\/p>\n
NYC DOT officials said similar street redesigns have been shown to improve safety by reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries by 30 % for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicle drivers and passengers.<\/p>\n
By expanding the bike lanes, NYC DOT said, the design reduces the time it takes pedestrians to cross vehicular traffic. Such changes are even more beneficial for pedestrian safety, reducing pedestrian deaths and serious injuries by 31.7%, per the agency.<\/p>\n
Upgrades to be done during repaving schedules<\/p>\n
Manhattan Borough President Brad\u00a0Hoylman-Sigal applauded the newly announced street redesign.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThese upgrades, including expanded sidewalks near Union Square and strengthened north-south bike connections, will help improve safety and better accommodate the thousands of New Yorkers and visitors who travel through this corridor each day, particularly as the city prepares for increased activity surrounding the World Cup,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, called out the \u201cgaping hole\u201d in the city\u2019s network of protected bike lanes when traveling south below 14th Street.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to the project being announced today, New Yorkers will finally be able to safely bike from Union Square all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge,\u201d he said. \u201cThe redesign will also bring significantly more pedestrian space \u2014 sorely needed ahead of this summer\u2019s World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furnas commended the city for developing the projects to align with existing street repaving schedules.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cRolling all of the work into the repaving schedule is an efficient way to get the job done in time for this massive influx of people to an already busy area,\u201d he said. \u201cThis ambition and forward momentum is a sign that the Mamdani administration is serious about making our streets \u2018the envy of the world,\u2019 and we look forward to much more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An e-bike rider on Delancey Street in January 2026. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell City officials will expand sidewalk…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":681158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[224697,5229,159187,286350,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,11900,67577,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-681157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-2026-fifa-world-cup","tag-america","tag-bike-safety","tag-manhattan-bike-lanes","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-transit","tag-union-square","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116290860446893885","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Cyclist](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC_7439.jpg\" "\\"More")
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