When members of the Barnard EcoReps rolled out a layer of sod in a Broadway parking space for a day last month, they created a tiny green space on the otherwise expansive asphalt and attracted more than a few curious eyes. But their temporary park for Park(ing) Day NYC was just one of many efforts to reclaim New York as a pedestrian city.

The Upper West Side Streets Renaissance (UWSSR) is giving a voice to area residents that envision other uses for the city's roadways. It is a coalition made up of Transportation Alternatives, a transportation advocacy organization, Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit urban planning and design organization, and the Open Planning Project, a non-profit incubator for projects and technology to catalyze large scale social change.

Since its creation in September 2007, the UWSSR, in collaboration with the groups that helped form it, have worked to create the 106th Street bike path, organized and hosted local Park(ing) Day NYC sites, and engaged an urban design firm to revision the blocks between 59th and 110th streets. After conducting surveys that revealed Upper West Siders' desire for more bike and pedestrian-friendly streets, the group--along with Columbia architecture graduate student Inbar Kishoni--hopes to unveil a comprehensive plan to make over city streets.

"An outrageous car culture exists [in New York City]," Tila Duhaime, a community organizer for Transportation Alternatives and member of UWSSR said. "People are raised with a car, so the assumption is you need a car. ... It's a typical American mind-set."

"We did a bad job integrating automobiles into our landscape," UWSSR member Peter Frishauf added. "Now we're trying to change the message so that the streets are predominantly for pedestrians. We're talking about democratizing our streets." The coalition hopes to address the use of streets as "free car storage," rather than open space for residents.

"Think about it," Frishauf said. "If only 15 to 20 cars can park on a street that houses hundreds of residents, that's incredibly unbalanced. Why should the few people who use free car storage have an advantage over pedestrians and cyclists?" Instead of holding rarely used vehicles, coalition members envision sidewalks wide enough to hold sidewalk cafés and pedestrian malls.

As part of this sidewalk makeover, the coalition proposed a plan of increasing curb "bulb-outs," which would add length to the sidewalk without taking away parking space or road space. The "bulb-outs" also aim to decrease accidents and force drivers to operate their vehicles with more caution.

The renaissance movement has received widespread support from city officials. Recently inducted Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has been instrumental in adding miles of bike lanes and pedestrian ways, Frishauf said.

In her two-year tenure as DOT commissioner, Sadik-Khan has also advocated for "complete streets," streets which are usable not only by motorists but pedestrians and bikers as well. She was also key in ushering in the city's first Summer Streets, three consecutive Saturdays in August when Park Avenue was closed to vehicles.

Locally, New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Upper West Side) has also been an influential advocate. With Brewer's help, the New York City Council passed the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Act in March. The law requires the city to keep closer tabs on the city's most hazardous streets and intersections. Brewer even hosted her own green parking space, filling parking spaces in front of her offices with sod and setting up a croquet course. Brewer, Frishauf said, has been incredibly sympathetic to the need to increase loading and unloading space for pedestrians.

"Safety is an issue for everyone," Brewer said, adding that it is especially relevant for senior citizens and students. "People are beginning to see the possibilities."

"New York could be the greatest cycling city in the world," Transporation Alternatives member Steven Philips said. "It should be."

lydia.wileden@columbiaspectator.com