Brooklyn Bridge in anticipation of a massive redevelopment: the city is looking for fresh ideas
'06.03.2020'
Source: gothamist.com
New York begins a public competition for the redevelopment of Brooklyn Bridge filled with tourists and residents of the metropolis. The city council is actively looking for fresh ideas to solve this problem. This publication writes Gothamist.
The competition started on March 3. Everyone from all over the world can take part in it. In particular, the city council is actively seeking fresh ideas to solve the problem of a chronically crowded footpath on the bridge.
This footpath has already gained notorious fame. So, on New Year's Eve of 2018, a traffic jam formed on the bridge from people, in connection with which the bridge was forcibly closed for some time.
Despite the fact that there are technically designated places for pedestrians and cyclists on the bridge, it is not easy for them to move around. After all, this famous attraction is also loved by crowds of tourists, so the bridge is always crowded with people.
“People from all over the world flock to the Brooklyn Bridge to soak up its history and see the breathtaking views of Manhattan,” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a press release. “We have to make sure they don’t compete for space because we want the number of people using the bridge to continue to grow.”
On average, last year, 16 pedestrians crossed the bridge daily. But from 500 to 2016, the number of cyclists crossing the bridge fell from 2018 to 3600, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT), even though the number of cyclists throughout the city continued to grow.
"The Brooklyn Bridge has been arguably New York's most iconic structure for 137 years," DOT's Chief Operating Officer Margaret Forgione said in a statement. "This beautiful bridge is not only a must-see for tourists - it is relied on by the thousands of New Yorkers crossing Brooklyn and Manhattan every day - many of them walking or cycling."
On the subject: 11 New York City's Most Important Bridges and Everything You Need to Know About Them
On Tuesday, March 3, a DOT spokeswoman announced that wireline inspections are due to begin in April, with a preliminary report to be released in June. “As we are doing our own engineering inspection this year to help assess boardwalk redesign, we welcome new and innovative ideas on how to redesign the Brooklyn Bridge promenade to create more pedestrian and cyclist space,” Forgione said.
About the contest
A competition called Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge will be held by the City Council and Van Alen Institute. Teams of professionals of two categories aged 22 years and older, as well as young people aged 21 and younger, will present their footpath designs.
The deadline for applications is April 5th.
Three finalists in each category will be selected by a jury of nine. The jury will consider factors such as accessibility and security, as well as new ideas that “surprise, delight and fascinate,” the contest said.
The jury consists of the leaders of the New York Institute for the Protection of Monuments, Transport Alternatives, the Van Alen Institute and other organizations.
Finalists in the professional and youth categories will receive $ 13 and $ 000, respectively. The two winning projects will be selected in an open vote in July.
