NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The Meatpacking District in Manhattan is permanently barring cars from several streets, according to a new report.
The district closed some of its roads to vehicular traffic last year as part of the city’s “Open Streets” program.
Now, the Meatpacking Business Improvement District plans to keep traffic off of Gansevoort, Little West 12th and West 13th streets — between Ninth Avenue and Washington Street — as well as the Ninth Avenue slip lane between West 14th and West 15th streets by installing planter barricades, Time Out New York reported.
"Following the city’s decision to make the Open Street program permanent, we see the Meatpacking District as an ideal location to promote and support changes to the public realm that emphasize pedestrians, promote foot traffic for businesses, support outdoor cafe culture, and allow for more cultural programming on our streets," BID Executive Director Jeffrey LeFrancois explained to the outlet.
"The unique geography and built environment of the Meatpacking District lends itself to an organic pedestrianization of the streetscape and these planter barricades are a critical first step in the process of prioritizing pedestrians on our streets,” LeFrancois added.
The barriers will be “moveable” to allow emergency vehicles to pass through, the outlet noted.