DOT to expand pedestrian space on 5th Avenue for holiday season

NEW YORK - The New York City Department of Transportation says it is looking to reconfigure 5th Avenue during the holiday season to accommodate the massive crowds that will dominate the city’s streets.

Close to one million people visit the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree each holiday weekend day, along with the tens of thousands of pedestrians who already fill the sidewalks.

“The issue is pedestrian traffic,” said Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute. “All of those people don’t fit on sidewalks as they are designed.”

The new changes will affect 5th Avenue from 51st to 48th Street, turning two of the Avenue’s five lanes and making them pedestrian-only. The remaining three lanes would be for buses and cars. 

This means that tourists, residents and people from the area visiting the tree or the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue will have significantly more room to roam. 

The new pedestrian walkways are supposed to begin around Thanksgiving and last until after New Year’s.