The 21st century street and intersection must support and grow a varied network of transportation and activities. Turning the intersection of 4th and 9th into a livable and usable space must originate from a planning strategy that is responsive and resilient to the unforeseen changes of 21st century culture.
4th and 9th street desires to converge the subway, bus, car and truck traffic into a transit hub, local business, residence, pedestrian and bike traffic to and from Prospect Park and celebrate the intersection as an important part of the growth of Brooklyn and New York City as a cultural and social reflection of the 21st century. We used the typical calming devices as a starting point and applied innovative ways of employing and using those methods. We combined the neck down, bus bulb and roadway narrowing in order to take traffic traveling on 4th street down to two lanes each way. We also created pedestrian refuges and roadway medians on 4th and 9th street. We added a 5ft. bike lane adjacent to every sidewalk, going both directions on both 4th and 9th street. We then added raised, textured crosswalks at the intersection for pedestrians. We further added a sculptural fixture into the intersection. The main concept for our design was based on the layering and growth of those basic devices. We created a combination of bio-swale, pervious concrete pavers, extended sidewalk culture and a bike lane on 4th street when we narrowed the road. Each piece can be interchanged to meet the needs of a specific intersection. The strategy can be applied to multiple intersections around the city, based on appropriateness. For example, the pervious concrete pavers, which we use as a bus stop, can be used for café space at other locations. 4th and 9th street become a prototype of how to grow a livable intersection based on the original calming devices.
The sculptural intervention is an element specifically designed for the space to represent and stimulate the cultural and social aspects of the intersection. We emphasized the elevated train and subway through a structural intervention that emphasizes the journey of the pedestrian through the intersection. The structure can then be layered and grow into a usable piece of infrastructure to support the necessary devices for the intersection. For example, it can become decoration that changes by event or structure for signage that changes as the intersection evolves. It likewise becomes a moniker, giving the intersection a physical identity.
An appropriate amount of transparency throughout the intersection allows for an increased sense of security and place for the pedestrian. It helps eliminate the dark and secluded spaces of the subway and train platforms and allows natural light to filter into those spaces. Likewise, at night those spaces become glowing beacons to pedestrians creating nodes that are destinations and nodes that interact and shape the overall character of the intersection as a whole.
The desire is to create a usable space that has an ever evolving physical, social and cultural identity. The physical identity should therefore, adapt to the social and cultural identity of the space and not be an inhibiting factor. By promoting pedestrian oriented modes of transportation and interaction through the use and growth of traditional calming devices, 4th and 9th street can become a world-class intersection.