New York City to Spend $57M on 42nd Street Pedestrian Safety Improvements

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) is set to move forward with a $57 million project to revamp a stretch of 42nd Street to prevent terror attacks.

This summer, DOT will begin reconstructing a portion of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues and add pedestrian safety measures such as wider sidewalks and steel security blocks, according to Crain’s New York Business, which first reported the news. The project will also add underground sewer lines to the block.

A spokesperson for DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Local groups pushed for the safety improvements after the deadly terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, with Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, telling Crain’s the new measures would “make 42nd Street safer” from similar strikes.

The project is being funded through a $41.7 million budget from DOT, as well as $15.2 million from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, Crain’s reported. The improvements are set to be completed by the summer of 2030.

Construction officials will also widen bus lanes as part of the project, but it falls short of several community boards’ pleas to create a 42nd Street busway to improve mass transit in Midtown, Crain’s reported.

The city must also coordinate with several different agencies along 42nd Street for the project, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is currently working on its Midtown bus terminal replacement.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.