NY State DOT officials may soon begin work on the southern-most section of the reconstruction of West Street (Route 9A) in lower Manhattan , from Battery Park to W. Thames Street. Because the roadway there was not severely damaged during the Sept. 11 attacks, it still has the same number of lanes as it had previously and is not undergoing formal environmental review. The plan would create a promenade along the west side of the road, and create a needed pedestrian refuge and turn-around lane at Battery Place and extend the Rte. 9A bikeway into Battery Park. But it would also leave a disappointingly narrow sidewalk strip along the road’s eastern edge — hardly a boulevard feature.

NY State DOT plans for the West Street segment near the World Trade Center site are much the same as they were last winter. The plans are in the midst of a supplemental environmental impact statement, which may be completed in the next month or two, with a hearing tentatively scheduled for the end of June. Most striking to participants at a recent presentation is how closely the "short tunnel" option resembles the "at grade" alternative, with the exception of an expensive, four-lane underpass in the former. Proponents of the tunnel — most notably, Governor Pataki — say depressing the lanes will create a better pedestrian environment. However, the at-grade option doesn’t have any more surface lanes than the tunnel option, and the ramps leading into the tunnel themselves present barriers to pedestrian crossings. The tunnel plan seems to have very little public support.