Philippe Fournier_Portfolio_2023

Park Avenue is one of the widest and busiest streets in Manhattan,
but stands out for its large planted medians in the centreline of the
road. The ‘Beyond the Centreline’ competition called on designers
to rethink this unused strip of urban fabric and propose possible
interventions. Our proposal is to incorporate a new two-way cycling
trail along the centre of the median, painted with bright rianbow
colours. Buffered from the busy road on either side by the existing
vegetation, this trail would be be a safe and easy for drivers to see,.
The path would fill in a major existing North-South gap in Manhattan’s
bike path network, connecting Spanish Harlem at 97th street all
the way Union Square at 14th Street. The path would also pass
through Grand Central Station at 42nd, the city’s busiest commuter
transit node. The rainbow scheme is both an homeage to the city’s
tolerance and diversity, and a visual attraction for instagrammers and
New Yorkers alike, adding a fun splash of colour to an otherwise
monochrome urban landscape.
The bike lane would anticipate
a large amount of cycling traffic
due to its midway connection
point at Grand Central as well as
its uninterrupted, two-way North-
South traffic flow. It would cost very
little to build and maintain, and
help reduce automobile congestion
on one of the city’s most important
commercial thoroughfares. Its
physical separation from car and
foot traffic also increases safety,
embolden would-be urban cyclists
to use it, as well as allow greater
speeds and reduced travel times
from roads which cyclists must
share with automobiles.
97
55th
54th
51st
MADISON AVE
PARK AVE
LEXINGTON AVE
LEGEND
GCS
48th
EXISTING SHARROWS
EXISTING BIKE LANES
PROPOSED BIKE LANE
14
GRAND CENTRAL
STATION
STUDY AREA; SEE MAP RIGHT
PARK
N
35