Sixth Avenue is about to get a fast-tracked makeover. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city Department of Transportation are moving to widen the protected bike lane on the corridor between West 14th and West 31st streets from roughly six feet to about 10 feet, and to add roughly nine feet of extra pedestrian space through Herald Square. The change will repurpose curb and roadway space, including the removal of at least one parking lane, to create a calmer, more passable cycle track. City officials say they are racing to finish the work before World Cup matches bring big crowds to Manhattan this June.
As first reported by Streetsblog New York City, Mamdani and Department of Transportation leadership planned a May 20 announcement about the project and its rush schedule. "What better way to welcome the World Cup than by making our streets safer and more accessible for everyone who uses them?" the mayor said in a statement reported by Streetsblog, as DOT prepares to reconfigure the avenue through Midtown.
DOT Data: Wider Lanes Cut Crash Risk
City analyses are doing a lot of the talking here. New York City DOT’s 2021 Safe Streets for Cycling report finds that adding bike facilities reduces crash risk by roughly a third, with protected bike lanes showing about a 34 percent reduction in cyclist risk across study projects. DOT and city advocates point to those citywide before and after studies when arguing that wider lanes calm traffic, shorten crossing distances and lower the chance of severe injuries for everyone on the street. NYC DOT's report has become a central piece of the agency’s safety case.
What The City Will Build On Sixth Avenue
The specific redesign will widen the existing protected track between West 14th and West 31st streets to allow safer passing and side-by-side riding. The block through Herald Square, from West 31st to West 35th streets, will get expanded pedestrian space to keep crowded foot traffic off the roadway. The plan reconfigures curb and travel lanes to make room for the upsized lane and new pedestrian islands at key crossings, a design DOT previewed during recent community-board presentations. Local reporting earlier this year laid out the same 14th to 35th Street corridor proposal, including the lane reallocation approach. 6sqft covered the presentation to community boards.
Pilot Evidence And Local Reaction
DOT points to its 2024 double wide pilot from Lispenard Street to West 13th Street as proof the tactic can work. Reporting shows that in the full year before that pilot, 26 cyclists and pedestrians were injured on that stretch, and 21 were injured in the full year after installation, even as rider counts rose. That smaller pilot is the kind of evidence Mamdani’s team is using to argue for rapid implementation on the Midtown stretch. Streetsblog New York City first summarized the pilot numbers and included local elected officials’ reactions.
Drivers And Delivery Workers Voice Concerns
Not everyone is thrilled about taking street space from cars. Residents and drivers have warned that removing lanes could worsen congestion for deliveries and for drivers traveling through Chelsea and the Village. CBS New York reported those concerns when DOT first proposed the reconfiguration and quoted officials saying the agency’s modeling does not expect major speed impacts from the change. CBS New York covered the earlier debate over lane removal and traffic tradeoffs.
City planners say the project will knit together a safer, wider bike corridor from Lower Manhattan through the Village and into Midtown, with final striping and community follow-ups expected in the coming weeks. DOT’s presentations and the mayor’s announcement make the agency’s safety goal explicit: to leave a stronger, more comfortable bike network in place long after the summer sports crowds have gone. NYC DOT lists the Sixth Avenue redesign among its current projects.
