In Midtown Manhattan, streets feel more like a battleground than a place for people. Cars are given the lion's share of space, while people walking and biking are left with street edges and narrow sidewalks. Intersections are too wide and unsafe to cross, while multi-lane streets allow dangerous conditions that result in the highest traffic crash and fatality rate borough-wide. In the age of Vision Zero, Midtown unacceptably lags behind.

We call on the Department of Transportation to Move Midtown, and put pedestrians and cyclists first. No person should be left without a safe crosswalk, and intersections should be treated to prevent severe traffic crashes. Improvements for people walking, such as leading pedestrian intervals (also know as a head-start), split-phase traffic signals (designated turning lanes for drivers) and neckdowns (shorter crossing distances) should be implemented wherever possible.

Street treatments in Midtown should address three major project goals:

Build crosstown protected bicycle lanes for safe east-west connections across the existing network.

for safe east-west connections across the existing network. Extend the "Complete Streets" projects on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Avenues , including current protected bicycle lanes, extending from Lower Manhattan up to Central Park.

, including current protected bicycle lanes, extending from Lower Manhattan up to Central Park. Close Second Avenue's Midtown Gap, a treacherous missing-link in the East Side bicycle network along the stretch of the Queens Midtown-Tunnel.

Midtown is where our neighborhoods and public spaces intersect, and can't be left out of the safe-streets network. We deserve to put our best foot forward in designing the future of these streets! We call on our elected officials to create livable, humane public space that prioritizes people, and not private cars. Move Midtown to improve streets for everyone - residents, workers, and shop-owners alike.