I am here today on behalf of Transportation Alternatives, New York City’s advocates for bicyclists and pedestrians, to express our strong support for making West Street in lower Manhattan a wide, at-grade boulevard with pedestrian-friendly sidewalks lined with tall shady trees on both sides and attractive stores and buildings that front on the east side of the street.

My group strongly opposes options - such as the short bypass tunnel - that come with an expensive price tag, divert limited funds from critical priorities, result in lengthy and disruptive construction, create new barriers cutting off Battery Park City and have no genuine benefits to residents, motorists and businesses.

The short tunnel is more appropriately calledRamp-way because its depressed ramps will actually make it harder for many pedestrians to cross West Street. A fair analysis will conclude that an $900 million short tunnel cannot be justified and that a far less expensive surface boulevard would be a much more desirable alternative.

My organizations is concerned that NYSDOT may have prejudged the issue and is strongly biased towards the short bypass tunnel option. That concern has been heightened by the poor process State DOT has followed in recent months. For example, the notice for this meeting went out on November 14th, just five days in advance.

The State DOT should have a genuinely open mind as the process moves forward. A good starting point would be for NYSDOT to conduct a new and full environmental impact statement for any tunneling proposal under the National Environmental Protection Act, rather than proceed ahead with a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement as you are now. This would increase public involvement in and understanding of the options for West Street.

Serious consideration should also be given to a surface solution for West Street that involves six lanes - such as now exists - in the World Trade Center area, in addition to the proposed eight lane At Grade alternative.

In November, we were one of eight groups that urged State DOT and LMDC to include in its planning the construction of a promenade along West Street in lower Manhattan with wide sidewalks and a redesign of the street fronts on both the east and west sides of West Street. The groups included New York Public Interest Research Group, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Environmental Defense, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the New York City Transit Riders Council.

As we noted in the letter: The model we have in mind is the world famous Les Champs-Elysees. Our groups believe that what works in Paris could work here: wide pedestrian-friendly sidewalks lined with tall shady trees and attractive stores and buildings that front on the street.

The letter went on to note: Such an approach might include redesign of the streetscape adjacent to the current West Street. Today, on its east side, West Street buildings feature loading bays and tiny, forbidding sidewalks. On the west, are unused open spaces, parking lots and other features intended to buffer office buildings and apartment houses in Battery Park City.

Under this alternative boulevard approach, West Street would be reinvented but remain a surface street. It would call on planners to work with developers and the design community to re-make the surrounding streetscape over the next few years. For the approach to be acceptable, it would also require that all parties work closely with local residents to preserve existing amenities along West Street, such as community gardens, ball fields, playgrounds, general use lawn space and the bike path.

Thank you.