Oct. 25, 2006, 9:58AM
Plan Would Ban Cars Manhattan's 42nd St.

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Turning Manhattan's famous 42nd Street into a pedestrian and light-rail line zone would boost business, a new study says.

The research, released Tuesday, predicts the plan would raise spending in local shops and restaurants by more than $380 million a year, create nearly 340 jobs and help fill hotel rooms and sell theater tickets.

The study, commissioned by the plan's supporters, is the latest building block in their argument for cutting off vehicular traffic on one of the city's busiest and most storied thoroughfares. Earlier studies predicted the proposal would speed transportation, raise nearby property values and increase tax collections enough to pay much of the project's estimated construction cost of $360 million to $510 million.

Supporters say it would be a boon to transportation, business and civic life. But some local residents are unconvinced of the transit benefits and worried about traffic.

The plan is only an idea for now. City transportation officials will review the new study, but their priority in the area is extending the No. 7 subway line, which connects midtown Manhattan and Queens, westward from Times Square, spokeswoman Kay Sarlin explained in an e-mail.

Immortalized in the musical that bears its name, 42nd Street runs through midtown Manhattan and the theater district. It is a conduit to Grand Central Terminal, the Port Authority bus terminal, the United Nations' headquarters and the New York Public Library's main building.

Light-rail and trolley proposals for 42nd Street go back decades. The latest push dates to 1999, when architect Roxanne Warren took a sluggish bus trip along the street. She and George Haikalis, a civil engineer and transportation planner, now head vision42, the organization spearheading the new proposal.

They point to light-rail projects in Houston, Minneapolis, San Diego and elsewhere.

"New York deserves as good a system," Warren said.

The 42nd Street plan would replace buses with a light-rail line. The line would stop at every block between the East and Hudson rivers, a wider span than the current 42nd Street shuttle subway line, which runs from Grand Central to Times Square.

Supporters say a light-rail trip would take 20 minutes from end to end and cost about the same as a bus or subway ride, currently $2.

Meanwhile, automobile traffic would be banned to make space for greenery, outdoor cafes and other pedestrian-friendly amenities.

That sounds good to Dan Biederman, president of the Bryant Park Corp., a nonprofit group that operates the park off 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. He says the park is so beset by traffic noise that "we can't do certain kinds of music (concerts) because you can't hear it."

A roster of environmental, urban planning and transportation groups has signed on to the light-rail plan. So have several local businesses.

"New York City is an intimidating place, and I think anything that would make it easier, in (visitors') minds, to get around would help," said Janine DiGioacchino, general manager of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, which expects to draw 750,000 people this year to its building on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

But the area's city-appointed community boards are split on the plan.

Community Board 4, which represents some neighborhoods near West 42nd Street, considers the light-rail proposal "worth pursuing," said the board's district manager, Bob Benfatto.

But Community Board 6, which represents some areas near East 42nd Street, opposes the idea.

Transportation Committee Chairman Lou Sepersky said the fixed light-rail line could be less useful than buses if a fire or other problem blocked part of the route.

He also questioned whether neighboring streets could handle added car traffic, though the rail line's supporters say studies show they can.

"We have never particularly found the argument in favor of it persuasive," Sepersky said.