6½ Avenue

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6½ Avenue is a north-south pedestrian passageway^[1][2] in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, running from West 51st to West 57th Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.^[3]

6+1⁄2 Avenue looking north from 51st Street

6+1⁄2 Avenue and West 51st Street in Manhattan

Restaurant using the west half of the avenue

The pedestrian-only avenue is a one-quarter mile (400 m) corridor of privately owned public spaces, such as open-access lobbies and canopied space,^[4] which are open during the day. There are stop signs and stop ahead signs at six crossings between 51st and 56th Streets. The mid-block crossing at 57th Street is equipped with a traffic light.^[5] At the crosswalk areas, there are sidewalk pedestrian ramps with textured surface and flexible delineators to prevent vehicles parking in the areas.^[6]

Each intersection along the thoroughfare has a street name sign that reads "6+1⁄2 AV" and the name of the cross street to officially mark the street name.^[7] The mid-block stop signs are unusual for Manhattan, and the fractional avenue name is a new idea for the numbered street system of New York City.^[4]

History

In 2011, the Friends of Privately Owned Public Spaces proposed the creation of a six-block pathway from 51st to 57th Streets that would be mid-block between Sixth and Seventh Avenues to ease pedestrian traffic. The proposal called for connecting public spaces in the area, that were not known to most pedestrians, into a pedestrian corridor and naming it Holly Whyte Way.^[8] The idea was presented to the Community Board 5 Transportation Committee and the full Community Board 5, then the board sent a formal request to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) in May 2011.^[1]

In March 2012, NYCDOT announced the plan, with a list of improvements, to construct a new pedestrian-only avenue.^[4] The Community Board 5 Transportation Committee unanimously voted in favor of a resolution to support the project as presented by NYCDOT on March 26, 2012.^[9] The $60,000 project was completed in July 2012.^[10]

Criticism

Drivers often fail to obey the avenue's stop signs presenting a public safety issue.^[11]

References

1. Chaban, Matt (March 26, 2012). "Meet Me on 6½th Avenue: DOT Planning Public Promenade Through Middle of Midtown Towers". The New York Observer. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
2. "New York City Mulls '6 1/2 Avenue' Proposal, Linking Pedestrian Walkways In Midtown". CBS New York. March 30, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
3. "NYC DOT Announces Completion Of "6 ½ Avenue," Connecting Midtown Public Spaces With New, Safer Pedestrian Crossings" (press release). New York City Department of Transportation. September 6, 2012.
4. Flegenheimer, Matt (March 29, 2012). "For Walkers, a Sixth-and-a-Half Ave. May Take Shape". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
5. Colvin, Jill (November 11, 2011). . DNAInfo.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
6. "Midtown Mid-Block Crossings", New York City Department of Transportation (May 10, 2012). Accessed: July 12, 2012
7. Grynbaum, Michael M.; Flegenheimer, Matt (July 13, 2012). "City Room: Officially Marking a New Manhattan Avenue". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
8. Colvin, Jill (April 27, 2011). . DNAInfo.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
9. Johnson, Mary (March 27, 2012). . DNAInfo. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
10. Johnson, Mary (July 12, 2012). . DNAInfo.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
11. "Stop Signs Along Midtown's 6 1/2 Avenue Catching Drivers By Surprise", CBS New York (July 19, 2012). Accessed: July 30, 2012

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 6½ Avenue.

• NYCDOT presentation