The street of the 21st Century has the potential to not only safely and efficiently convey intermodal forms of traffic through a place, but to also improve the quality of a place, both aesthetically and ecologically. This scheme aims to use the street-scape to guide pedestrians, bicycles, and autos while also integrating the infrastructures of storm-water drainage, parking, bus stops, subway entrances, and refuse collection.

Pedestrians and those seeking alternate forms of street transportation often find busy streets such as 4th Avenue dangerous to travel down and cross. This scheme reinforces safety by separating modes of traffic. Soft buffer swaths discourage jaywalking. Pedestrian refuge areas are provided within islands at intersections to encourage safe use of crosswalks. A bicycle lane is provided in the center island of 4th Avenue where car traffic and opening doors cease to pose a dangerous threat.

Congested poorly designed streets typically fill with unmoving traffic increase commute times and pollution from fossil fuel combustion. This scheme provides separate turning lanes to ease the flow of through traffic and demarcated bus pull offs at stops. The communal corner refuse and recyclables areas further increase traffic flows by reducing stops made by garbage trucks.

Vast areas of our city are covered in impervious paving surface, forcing enormous volumes of storm-water to burden man-made infrastructure systems which are often overcapacity and subject to deterioration over time. This scheme introduces vegetated swales in the buffering separations between traffic types to cleanse storm-water and to naturally slow and reduce the rate of runoff entering the sewage system. The vegetation within these swales serves beyond aesthetics as a carbon sink, providing a natural carbon dioxide cleansing system for the local city air. The provision of green areas further reduces the amount of dark paving surface, lessening heat island effects typical to urban areas.

Trellised vines attached to the train overpass further follow the theme of simultaneously improving aesthetics and stimulating the natural carbon cycle. Below the train overpass, a translucent and reflective panels facet the walls and ceiling of the space, improving the spread of natural light and providing visual interest. These panels can be lit from behind at night for increased safety near the subway entrances.

Themes of increasing light, air and vegetation permeate this scheme. Windows are added to the train overpass, reducing the visual mass of the element. The typical area of asphalt is also reduced to lighten this scheme by adding permeable surfaces. Permeable pavers or an eco-grid system can be effectively used in the parking lanes, bus stops and turning lanes. The provision of a second pavement adds to the gradual absorption of storm-water over the site and utilizes a texture variance which cautions drivers to slow and use extra caution in these areas.