Lower Manhattan, New York
Roads, Block, Buildings
Historically, the site had evolved from an undifferentiated grid of blocks oriented toward the commercial activity of Hudson River piers. Subsequent construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and buildup of the West Side Highway into a major through artery severed these crucial links to the west. The World Trade Center, a massively overscaled development within this cloistered precinct, radically altered the area and further disrupted existing site links. Subsequently, it became apparent that the new Battery Park City is effectively isolated from Lower Manhattan and from public transportation, leading to a rather haphazard introduction of pedestrian bridges in an attempt to mitigate the problem. Our project proposes to clarify the relationships to the river and to the rest of Downtown by reinforcing the pedestrian east-west link through alignment with the Wintergarden, by depressing the express lanes of the Highway below grade, and providing a major enclosed pedestrian bridge between the proposed Station and the World Financial Center.
Public Transportation: Trains, Ferries
Transportation needs in the area were originally served by a number of competing private ferries and tramlines. Development of the subway and commuter rail systems followed the same pattern, and the systems were never linked. The proposed Station will correct this problem and greatly facilitate commuter flow into and through Downtown.