HELL’S KITCHEN, NY — A major redesign of Ninth Avenue is set to get underway this month, as city officials aim to ease overcrowding and improve safety along one of Midtown’s busiest corridors ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
The New York City Department of Transportation revealed plans to overhaul Ninth Avenue between West 34th and West 50th streets Thursday, adding pedestrian space, expanding bike infrastructure and extending a bus lane to better accommodate heavy foot traffic and transit use.
Officials say the upgrades come at a critical time, as the neighborhood is expected to see a surge in visitors during the FIFA World Cup, particularly near the Lincoln Tunnel and Port Authority Bus Terminal.
“Ninth Avenue will be a hub of activity during this summer’s World Cup, with visitors from around the world and increased traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel and the Port Authority Bus Terminal,” NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said. “Mayor Mamdani has told us to think big, so in order to be a welcoming and safer place for tourists and New Yorkers alike, we will immediately work to have Ninth Avenue better accommodate the vast majority of the street’s users who are on two feet, two wheels, or who are riding the bus.”
More than half of the people who use this stretch of Ninth Avenue are pedestrians, according to the DOT, contributing to persistent sidewalk crowding that officials say will only intensify during the tournament.
To address that, the redesign will create a “super sidewalk,” adding about nine feet of additional pedestrian space along parts of the corridor. New pedestrian islands will also be installed at intersections to improve safety.
The plan also calls for widening the avenue’s protected bike lane from five feet to nine feet — a notable expansion on a corridor that was the first in the city to feature a dedicated protected bike lane when it was installed in 2007.
On the west side of the street, nearly half a mile of bus lane will be newly painted red and extended north to West 50th Street.
The lane will operate daily during peak hours — from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. — and is expected to improve bus speeds, which have been slowed by congestion, particularly from traffic heading toward the Lincoln Tunnel.
The corridor has also been identified as a Vision Zero priority area, with 37 people killed or seriously injured there between 2021 and 2025, including one pedestrian fatality.
Construction is already beginning, with work scheduled in phases over the coming months. Repaving and initial construction will run from mid-March through mid-June. Additional lane markings will be completed during the World Cup, but only on non-game days, with the full project expected to wrap up by late summer or early fall.
For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.