New York New Visions, a collation of architecture, planning and design organizations that formed after September 11^th hosted a meeting on Lower Manhattan’s transportation plan last week.

The NYSDOT presented the three alternatives for Route 9A/West Side Highway currently undergoing environmental review: one would leave the highway as is with three lanes in each direction, another would increase the highway to four lanes in each direction, a third would provide four lanes underground and four lanes above ground. DOT still claims that a larger road or tunnel is necessary to accommodate increased traffic after the September 11^th memorial is built. Opponents disagree saying huge costs, good accessibility to nearby transit, high pedestrian flow, and low traffic volume - before 9/11 the multiuse highway carried only 100,000 vehicles per day as opposed to 140,000 pedestrians - make the tunnel or larger roadway unnecessary.

Construction will begin next month on the new Fulton Street Transit Center, which will connect the web of subways and PATH trains that meet downtown. 

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