It’s Take 2 for 34th Street’s planned overhaul.
City transportation chief Janette Sadik-Khan yesterday officially pitched her department’s latest rendition of the bus-friendly project, after an earlier plan sparked fierce opposition from community residents and elected officials.
Sadik-Khan unveiled the proposal at a meeting with residents and local officials at the New Yorker Hotel.
Under the latest schematics, the Department of Transportation would do away with the proposed pedestrian plaza on 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, which would have been similar to the ones in Times and Herald squares.
It also would cut back on the major thoroughfare’s traffic lanes across its entire length, reducing them from two each way to one.
There will still be a separate lane each way for buses and emergency vehicles.
In addition, there would be a vast expansion of loading zones and parking spots, to address one of the main criticisms neighbors and small businesses had about earlier plans.
“Loading is a big deal,” Sadik-Khan said.
“We heard from the community that they were concerned for loading on the corridor.”
The number of loading spaces would increase almost seven-fold, from 55 to 355, she said.
There also would be some full-time parking spaces on one side of the street. Currently, parking is allowed only between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.