34th Street:   Not A "Corridor"

DOT calls 34th Street a transportation "corridor" but it’s more than that. For the East and West Sides it’s a vital neighborhood street where people live, shop, eat, attend church and go to the post office. With its wide sidewalks, trees and flowerbeds, it is pedestrian-friendly too, good for the scores of local retailers who offer their communities convenient services and personal attention. Indeed, 34th Street is the kind of street that helps make New York neighborhoods feel like small towns. By splitting the street in two with concrete barriers and obstructing views of lobbies and shops behind walls of buses, the neighborhood character of Murray Hill, Kips Bay and Clinton will be jeopardized.