NEW YORK—The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Times Square Alliance are working on a project to redesign the pedestrian areas on Time Square, making it smoother and more attractive.
The redesign will include the elimination of road curbs and asphalt grounds. The entire area will be a flat surface paved with gray stone and concrete tiles.
“This design will make the temporary asphalt plazas into an attractive asset that reflects the best of New York and puts our best face forward to the world,” said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance.
“On the surface, this simple, flexible design will clear obstructions and support the growing number of programs occurring in Times Square, which more than 350,000 people visit every day,” wrote DOT spokesperson Seth Solomonow in a statement.
The plan also includes the restoration of the underground infrastructure.
“This long-planned redesign will restore the aging utilities below the street, which itself hasn’t been rebuilt in more than 50 years and still has trolley tracks beneath the asphalt,” wrote Solomonow.
The architectural firm selected for designing the project is Snohetta Architecture Design Planning. The Department of Design and Construction is serving as the project’s design and construction manager on behalf of the client agency, the DOT.
According to NY1, the project will cost $27 million. Construction is slated to begin next fall and is expected to be completed by 2014.
