Fifth Avenue is one of the most iconic shopping streets in the world. It consistently ranks as the most prestigious because of the number of luxury brands that call it home. Not surprisingly, it has some impressive commercial architecture too. It’s a very popular tourist spot and integral to New York’s economy. However, there are plans to change a big part of it. Let’s have a closer look to see what they could mean and how they could inspire others areas to follow suit.
Pedestrian priority
The proposal is to make the stretch of Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park into a boulevard where pedestrians are the main focus. This could work wonders for the area. It is home to iconic shops like Saks Fifth Ave and flagships from some of the biggest brands in the world like Apple and Tiffany. As a result, it is naturally very busy.
A new design for the area would expand the pavements, reduce the number of lanes of traffic, make crosswalks shorter, and install new lighting, greenery, and street furniture. There would also be new infrastructure to deal with the flooding risk.
Why the change?
As we said above, Fifth Avenue is crucial to New York’s economy. It can see an average of 5,500 pedestrians every block at typical times. During holidays this can increase to a massive 23,000. As a result, the current infrastructure struggles greatly.
The amazing thing is that, although 70% of traffic is pedestrians, they have just 46% of the space. This includes just 23ft of pavement on each side. The actual usable space is even less too when you consider that the pavements are also home to things like rubbish bins, signs, bus stops, and street lights. Some of the commercial architecture can encroach too.
If the new design gets approval, the pavements would increase to 33.5ft. There would then be an additional 8.5ft for trees, with 230 new ones planted. Overall, it would make the area safer and more pleasant for pedestrians.
The hope is the change will have a benefit on the economy. A project in 2022 that saw restrictions to vehicles and prioritisation of pedestrians on 11 blocks was successful in this regard. The estimate is it saw a $3m increase in spending, a 6.6% rise for businesses.
Inspiration
The design and study of the changes is due to be complete by summer 2025. If it gets approval, we could then see the evolution of Fifth Avenue. It could ultimately inspire changes on other busy commercial streets all around the world.
Need some help with commercial architecture?
Coffey Architects knows how wonderful commercial buildings can be. It can be even more successful if the areas around it are designed carefully. We’d be happy to help clients with designs for the properties and spaces.
So, if you would like some help with commercial architecture, please speak to us. We can design anything, including flagships for different brands.