Granite and concrete blocks are installed as part of Operational Projects as hardening in order to provide safety for pedestrians. Many granite blocks have been repurposed from bridge rehabilitation projects across the City. These blocks are a sustainable solution that integrates seamlessly into New York City’s urban environment. NYC DOT also purchases new blocks when needed.
I have seen it this done well and with aesthetic attention to detail. But apparently in New York you just dropped rocks on the ground and go home.
Usually these are raised up to the level of the walkway and generally integrated little bit better into the environment maybe put some plants and gravel around them, this looks like the result of a landslide that they’ve just painted an outline around. I suppose it’s equally effective but I feel like aesthetics account for something.
These look they just fell out of the sky after a volcanic eruption, and they were too heavy to move, do they just live here now.
It’s from former mayor Bloomberg’s transportation chief Janette Sadik-Khan. He gave her a few million bucks to go ham with experimental street redesigns. She went max-economical and stretched that budget by spending it on street paint, simple street furniture, the adhered sand application you see in the photo (that’s not tan paint), and repurposed bollards like those boulders. She grew out the city’s class 2 bike lane network with the paint, used the adhered sand and boulders and street furniture to sketch out extra curb space and plazas all over. Many of which were very well-received and got public support to go permanent with actual cement over the following decade. But the city still frequently uses her temporary application approach to test out pedestrianization changes, and the adhered sand / boulder combo works so well it’s become pretty much permanent on it’s own in some places.
Why did the bridges have a drinking problem?
Have you tried living in NYC?
Sad state of infrastructure.