["Maintenance", "Reconstruction", "**Illustration 64** Proposed Visual and Access Corridor at West 22nd Street", "Inboard\nOutboard", "From Pier 40 north to the Marine Transfer Station, the highway would be depressed and covered. The six piers between Christopher Street and the Gansevoort Destructor would be removed, thus opening to the water the entire length of Greenwich Village—from Houston Street to Gansevoort Street. Starting at Gansevoort Street and extending north to 16th Street, the highway would rise from a depressed section to an elevated one, with West Street divided on either side of the highway. The width of the right-of-way through the interchange, because of the exit ramps and the lanes of West Street, would be about 480 feet. North of 16th Street, because the highway would be elevated, the visual effect would be similar to that for the Maintenance and Reconstruction alternatives.", "**Tunnel Connections** There are two ramp connection options at the Holland Tunnel. One, a \"two-corridor\" connection, would run from the new highway eastward along North Moore Street and Canal Street. The southern leg of this interchange would pass through the northernmost parcel of the Washington Street Urban Renewal area. The ramps would impact the proposed housing site by cutting the parcel into two smaller sites. The smaller of the two resulting parcels on the northern side of the ramp would be rendered less attractive for housing because of its narrow triangular shape. The northern leg of the interchange is simpler, and would be less disruptive because it is compatible with the existing grid, and would pass by industrial land uses which are relatively insensitive to the presence of such ramps. The cumulative effect of the two-corridor interchange would be to surround this 20 square block area of industrial land use.", "The other interchange is a \"one-corridor\" connection to the Holland Tunnel, located entirely within the Canal Street area, amid essentially industrial uses. It would have no disruptive effect on the northern housing parcel of the Washington Street Urban Renewal Area, six blocks to the south. The geometry of the ramps themselves, however, would not conform to the street pattern of Canal Street, but would be more free form, spreading over a larger area and detracting from the sense of the street.", "There are also two alternative interchanges at the Lincoln Tunnel. One is located between 30th and 31st Streets, the other between 35th and 36th Streets. Either would pass through an area essentially industrial in character. The differences between the two rest in the potential impact on the overall configuration of the railroad yards. The 30th-31st Street corridor would leave most of the yards intact, and the 35th-36th Street corridor would cut the yards in half.", "**Ventilation Buildings** The proposed buildings which would house mechanical ventilation equipment, because of their various locations, have been planned to respond to a number of different design criteria. The vent building opposite the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel entrance, because of its isolation in an open area on the West Street median, would be treated as a sculptural element marking the entrances to the Tunnel and to the Battery Park Underpass. The ventilation building at Harrison Street, to the west of the highway, would be located so as not to block views of the water from upland streets. The south face of the building has been aligned with the other buildings along Harrison street. The ventilation building opposite Pier 40 would be located between Clarkson and Leroy Streets. It has

Narrow and steep ramps connect the existing West Side Highway to local streets.

This section between Canal and 72nd Streets has a system of ramps which were designed to distribute local traffic in the Midtown and Lower Manhattan areas. However, the pattern of traffic demand changed with the subsequent construction of the Lincoln Tunnel and the Henry Hudson Parkway, as well as the southern extension of the West Side Highway itself, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Battery Park Underpass. From a solely local service facility, the Highway became a major carrier of West Side CBD traffic as well. The existing structure, which was not designed to handle the kinds and volumes of traffic these changes caused, became inadequate. Some of the existing ramps no longer served the travel movements desired by motorists. In addition, there are no direct connections between the existing Highway and the Hudson River tunnels. Thus, traffic between the West Side Highway and New Jersey has been forced to use local streets in Manhattan to get to and from the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

The access ramps are located unevenly along the Highway's course, with several ramps in Midtown and Lower Manhattan, but only one set of ramps in the area between. All of these ramps provide access to a street beneath the Highway known variously as West Street, Marginal Street, or Eleventh or Twelfth Avenue. Generally, it is a two-way street, but only southbound movement is allowed between 14th and 21st Streets. Free traffic flow on the cobble-stone surface is hampered by the frequent columns and irregularly located ramps.

["to the CBD. However, as was noted earlier in this\nsection, there are as many truck trip ends in\nManhattan as there are auto trip ends. Also, there are\ntrucks garaged in the CBD overnight which would not\nappear in data on trucks entering the CBD, and there\nare trucks which are kept off the streets (approximately\none-third of the total) during the day for servicing.\nThus, the average active truck makes somewhere\nbetween ten and eleven trips per day; each time a\nbread truck stops at a store to make a delivery counts\nas the end of one trip, and its departure from the\nmarket begins a new trip. Furthermore, it would appear\nthat most truck trips both begin and end in Manhattan.\nAnalysis of the Tri-State Regional Planning\nCommission's 1963 origin and destination data\nshows that approximately two-thirds of CBD-bound\ntruck trips originate in Manhattan.", "To better understand that half of all vehicular trip\nends in Manhattan are attributable to taxis, it must be\nnoted that an important aspect of taxi operation is\ncruising. Due to the nature of the business, taxi drivers\nspend much of their time driving empty cabs in search\nof passengers. Project data include as one trip the\nmovement of a taxi from the point at which it deposits\none fare to the point at which it picks up its next\nfare, in addition to each trip made with a fare in the\ncab. Since about half of all taxi trips in Manhattan\nare made without passengers, the movements of empty\ntaxis account for a substantial amount of all vehicles\non the street and all miles traveled by vehicles in\nManhattan.", "To summarize the information just presented on travel\nto Manhattan and, in particular, to the CBD, several\nitems are emphasized. The vast majority of trips to\nManhattan are made on public transit, particularly for\nthe journey to work. Use of the automobile for trips\nto Manhattan rose somewhat during the past decade,\nthough most trips by auto to Manhattan originate\nsomewhere in New York City. Three quarters of the\nvehicular trips to Manhattan are made by trucks and\ntaxis. River crossings to Manhattan are operating at or\nnear capacity at present and could not accommodate\nmany additional vehicles in the peak period. Further,\nthe maximum accumulation of vehicles in the CBD\noccurs around 1:00 PM each weekday, indicating\nthat high levels of congestion are not limited to\nthe peak periods. And, the automobile is heavily\nused for non-peak period trips, most of which are\nassociated with pleasure rather than work.", "The West Side Highway below Canal Street was under construction in 1938.", "The West Side Highway", "This section examines the role of the West Side\nHighway as a route for vehicles and people entering\nthe Manhattan CBD. In doing so, it indicates why the\nTri-State Regional Planning Commission has placed\nhigh priority on improving the Highway.", "The existing West Side Highway stretches from a\nconnection with the Henry Hudson Parkway at 72nd\nStreet about five miles south to the Battery at the\ntip of Manhattan. The existing Highway, a large\nsection of which

REGIONAL PLANNING

The Regional Plan Association (RPA) has been trying to act as mediator between all the various interest groups on the West Side Highway. At the end of August they began to hold negotiating sessions with representatives of these groups in an attempt to reach agreement before the hearings on the following "essential elements of any West Side Highway replacement." As listed below, they represent the RPA's thinking as of August 5. They have probably altered considerably by the hearing date.

1. The existing West Side Highway elevated structure should be removed and should not be replaced by an elevated mainline structure.

2. The Hudson River waterfront should be accessible to people and the adjacent open space designed so the noise and fumes of the traffic do not spoil its enjoyment.

3. Any new land created for the Highway should be developed in conformity with an enunciated west side land use development policy and implementation process.

4. The created land should be used for outdoor recreation, and other uses consistent with the needs of related communities. Such housing as is built should be designed and located so it does not block existing residential neighborhoods, visually or actually, from the waterfront. Environmental standards for any new housing should meet air and noise standards for residential areas.

5. Vehicle capacity of any replacement should be such that its peak hour use would not be greater than the capacity of the existing highway and West Street taken together; any service streets along the present right-of-way should not allow continuous traffic movement, but only accommodate access to adjacent residential or non-residential uses.

6. Private auto capacity should be consistent with an overall City vehicle policy for the Manhattan Central Business District which recognizes the need to limit parking, moves toward meeting air quality standards, recognizes energy constraints and the need to expand pedestrian space in selected streets.

7. West Side Highway interchanges should minimize visual blight and land taking.

8. Transition to the Henry Hudson Parkway must be accomplished so as to leave the Parkway in its present configuration and use.

9. Public transportation along the West Side Highway corridor should be considered as part of an overall official program for public transportation in the New York Region and given a priority consistent with its usefulness and cost vis-a-vis other regional possibilities. Whether used immediately or not, the West Side transit right-of-way ought to be preserved so as not to preclude future options.

10. Funds should be made available from federal financing for the West Side Highway Project with the above essential elements and amenities.

REGIONAL PLANNING

3. Any new land created for the Highway should be developed in conformance with an enunciated west side land use development policy and implementation process.

the issue drew such an overwhelming
response that it is now considered polit-
ically dead if not yet officially buried.

When the Project was established,
the community boards involved felt they
could not adequately cope with the
mass of technical data WSHP would
give to help them make a choice of one
alternative over another. They re-
quested their own outside consultants.
These were established with funds from
the Board of Estimate through Manhat-
tan Borough President Percy Sutton. For
COMBO (Community Boards Two,
Seven and Nine in the Village and the
Upper West Side) BeyerBlinder-Belle,
architects and planners, are preparing
a report. For Board Four in Chelsea and
Clinton, Raymond, Parrish, and Pine are
doing a separate report.

In two years of study, five alternative
highway and two public transport pro-
posals for the WSH have been de-
veloped.

The Inboard Alternative for the new
highway would be located so that Pier
40 and the Chelsea Piers would be re-
tained for maritime use. The highway
would generally follow the route of the
present highway, but would be depres-
sed and partially covered in the vicinity
of Battery Park City and depressed and
totally covered near the West Village
waterfront. The highway would still be
elevated throughout the Chelsea-
Clinton portion of the Corridor. The new
six-lane Interstate would retain West
Street as a four-lane service and access
road. Approximately 28 acres of open
space would be created by highway
construction largely in the West Village
waterfront area. Cost: $900 million to
42nd Street without transit.

In the Outboard Alternative it is as-
sumed that traditional cargo activities
on the Lower West Side will be phased
out and the passenger ship berths at
Pier 40 replaced by the Passenger Ship
Terminal currently under construction in
Midtown. Under this proposal, the
highway and any transit would be de-
pressed in landfill extending out to the
pierhead line. Approximately 250 acres

of new land would be created of which
50 would be used for access ramps. For
planning purposes, an assumption has
been made that some 75 acres along
the new waterfront would be designated
as public open spaces, leaving 125
acres for "other" uses - a dangerous
opportunity for developers if left un-
planned, many Manhattanites fear.
Cost: $1.1 billion to 42nd Street without
transit.

Three so-called no-build solutions
are also proposed.

The Maintenance Alternative would
simply repair and maintain the present
WSH, not a cheap solution, given the
state of the road. No new transit facility
would be included. Cost: about $86 mill-
on.

In the Reconstruction Alternative, the
dock would be partially reconstructed
with wider access ramps and lanes. The
structure of the present WSH would be
beefed up to take trucks off nearby
streets. No new land would be created
for development and the piers would
remain the same. Cost: $227 million to
72nd Street.

In the Arterial Alternative, the present
highway would be torn down and West
Street widened to eight lanes, three
going south and three north with a local
traffic lane on each side. A transitway
would be depressed below grade from
the World Trade Center to about 23rd
Street, where it would join the Penn Cen-
tral tracks at grade. Traffic would be
controlled in the same manner as any
other boulevard in the city. No new land
would be created, and the piers would
not be affected. Cost: $76 million to
72nd Street without transit.

Construction funds would be avail-
able on a 90/10 basis for the Outboard
and Inboard alternatives, with the Feds
putting up 90 percent because of Inters-
tate designation. The alternative is a
70/30 split for funding of Primary, Sec-
ondary and Urban Road systems. The
New York State Department of Trans-
portation is unwilling to include the WSH
in this program because it would take
up too large and too easily inflatable a

portion of the State's fixed budget for
roads in this category. Interstate funds,
on the other hand, are distributed
among the states on a mileage rather
than a grant basis, so construction over-
runs are not significant—thus the desire
to designate the WSH as an Interstate.

If an Interstate system is not ap-
proved, therefore, the State is unlikely to
put up any funds for the Highway and
the City will have to shoulder the entire
burden, not a very happy prospect for
Mayor Beame in these days of tight
budgets. In this case, the City is most
likely to go for a very simplified version
of the Arterial Alternative as the
cheapest solution.

WSHP's assumption is the highway
will continue its present role of bringing
commuters via the George Washington
Bridge and the Battery and Lincoln
Tunnels into the city with little or no
change in highway load since access

would be limited by the capacity of the
bridge and tunnels. The project staff ar-
gues that the Interstate routes would
also reduce truck traffic on West Side
streets. COMBO contends that WSHP
has not analyzed the transportation
needs of the West Side and the New
York Region and then designed its al-
ternatives based on those needs.

Where trucks are coming from and
going to in Manhattan depends on who
you are talking to. As in *Alice in Wonder-
land*, when Alice asks directions, the
caterpillar says, "It depends on how you
want to get there." This is approximately
the situation when you look at the WSHP
point of view, or that of COMBO.

COMBO asserts that 95 percent of
truck movement on Manhattan is inter-
nal and would have no use for an Inter-
state. WSHP has produced conflicting
statistics which indicate that the no-
build alternatives will heavily increase

THE HEARINGS The final day of public hearings for the West Side Highway is Thursday, September 12. The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. and continues to 11:30 p.m. It takes place at the New York Statler Hilton Hotel, 401 Seventh Avenue, New York 10001. The hearing is held by the New York State Department of Transportation and is presided over by an independent hearing officer who merely insures that all witnesses are heard and their testimony included in the record. A brief presentation on the proposed project alternatives is made at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. and project personnel are on hand to answer questions throughout the hearing. All project information and public testimony is available for inspection and can be read or copied at the offices of the West Side Highway Project, 19 Rector Street, New York 10006. Telephone: 483-8300. Written statements submitted after the September 12 hearing will be accepted into the record if mailed to the West Side Highway Project on or before October 28, 1974.

Illustration 66 Outboard Alternative Waterfront Configuration

**Tunnel Connections** The alternative interchanges at the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels are similar in intent and configuration to those described for the Inboard alternative, and the effect of their design and location would be essentially the same.

**Ventilation Buildings** With the exception of the ventilation buildings at 14th Street, all the structures are similar in intent to the Inboard alternative. At 14th Street, the ventilation buildings would serve a different function. Here, they have been arranged on both sides of the entrance and exit ramps from the highway with a bridge over 14th Street, so as not to interrupt the park which would continue on either side. Park users could walk up and over the bridge without leaving the Park. In final design, the buildings could be scaled to the park, or they could be integrated into the park with earth berming. The bridge solution would add a new dimension to the park, in that it would give height in what is otherwise a flat esplanade, and produce an effect similar to the grade changes in Carl Shurz Park over the FDR Drive. There, the park rises 35 feet above the water, allowing the user to move in a short distance from a vantage point overlooking the East River to close contact with the River itself. The topography of the West Side for the most part is flat and low lying, and affords few natural opportunities for such changes in elevation.

**West Street** The design of West Street in the Outboard alternative is relatively clean and simple, and more consistent with typical Manhattan avenues than the Inboard. However, adjacent to the numerous West Village warehouses and the Gansevoort-14th Street Meat Market, the street has been aligned to provide a buffer strip in order to retain truck parking and loading facilities as long as they have an economic use in the area. In the long term, the buffer strip, which would widen West Street through the West Village, would provide a continuity of open space along all of the building fronts on West Street. North of 14th Street, West Street would again be brought closer to the existing buildings, and its effect much less apparent, although it would still be wider than nearby north-south streets.

From Battery Park City to the Holland Tunnel interchange, the driver's experience would be essentially the same as that for the Inboard alternative. At about Houston Street, the highway drops into a covered section. Unlike the Inboard alternative, the highway stays covered until just north of 27th Street, at which point it rises to connect to the existing West Side Highway. The driver's experience in the Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel interchanges would be similar to the Inboard alternative. In both instances, there would be similar dramatic views of New York City. Views of the waterfront, however, would be limited by interchange ramps and, at the Holland Tunnel, would be further limited by the distance of the roadway from the water.