The Broadway Malls

What is 5 miles long, 20 feet wide and green?
The Broadway malls extend nearly 5 miles along Broadway from 60th Street to 168th Street and comprise 10.6 acres of green parkland. On average, each mall measures 240 feet in length by 20 feet in width. In an earlier era, the malls were broad, grassy promenades for pedestrians. Today’s Broadway malls are traffic medians lined with shrubs and shade trees, and are bordered on each side by 3 lanes of north or southbound traffic.

At the north and south ends of nearly every mall there are gardens or end beds, which typically measure 9 by 11 feet. These gardens are planted with shrubs, roses, perennials, ornamental grasses and annuals, and designed to provide seasonal interest and a display of color and texture to engage the senses. The end beds are fronted by benches and are adjacent to the pedestrian crosswalks at each intersection. These areas provide community residents and visitors with a place to pause, sit and meet others or read under the shade of a tree.