RECORD OF TESTIMONY AND STATEMENTS IN RELATION TO 189 



NECESSITY FOR DISTRICTING PLAN 



The investigation shows that it would be impossible for all the occu- 

 pants of the buildings abutting on these streets to seek the street level at 

 one time, since the street — even- though it were cleared of all other traffic, 

 pedestrian, vehicular and surface street car, and absolutely free from all 

 obstructions so that the entire width of the street might be used — would be 

 unable to hold them. The minimum space required by a crowd moving in 

 one direction is five square feet per person. Computed in this manner, 

 Broadway could hold but 96.3 per cent of its occupants ; Trinity Place 

 and Church Street, 86.6 per cent ; Nassau Street, 69.3 per cent ; New Street, 

 44.5 per cent, and Exchange Place, 37.5 per cent. 



Stated in other words, the crowd on Broadway, below Chambers Street, 

 would be 1.1 persons deep; on Trinity Place and Church Street, 1.2 per- 

 sons deep; on Nassau Street, 1.4 persons deep; on New Street, 2.2 persons 

 deep, and on Exchange Place, 2.7 persons deep. New Street and Exchange 

 Place, it will be noted, would barely afford adequate standing room for their 

 respective occupants. 



For practical purposes, however, the street must be divided into road- 

 way and sidewalks. The entire street cannot be used exclusively by pedes- 

 trians ; it must be used by both pedestrians and vehicles. 



If the crowds were to keep on the sidewalks, moving in one direction 

 as above with a minimum space allowance of five square feet per person, 

 the occupants on Trinity Place and Church Street would be piled up 1.8 

 persons deep; on Broadway, 2.0 persons deep; on Nassau Street, 3.1 persons 

 deep ; on New Street, 5.2 persons deep ; and on Exchange Place, 6.6 persons 

 deep. 



If the average frontage height on these streets were increased to 30 

 stories, the occupants would be piled up 4.0 persons deep on the sidewalks 

 on Broadway, below Chambers Street; 5.1 persons on Trinity Place and 

 Church Street; 8.5 persons on Nassau Street; 11.4 persons on New Street; 

 and 11.9 persons on Exchange Place. These estimates are based on the 

 assumption that the sidewalk width would remain unchanged. The follow- 

 ing table shows the estimated sidewalk congestion on these streets if im- 

 proved with buildings of different average frontage heights, the figures 

 showing the number of persons deep the occupants would be on the side- 

 walk, each occupant being allowed five square feet of sidewalk space : 



Height 



in Trinity Place and Broadway, Below Exchange 



Stories Nassau Street Church Street New Street Chambers Street Place 



15 4.8 2.8 6.3 2.2 6.7 



20 6.2 3.7 8.1 2.8 8.6 



25 7.4 4.4 9.6 3.4 10.4 



30 8.5 5.1 11.4 4.0 11.9 



The sidewalks are incapable of caring for more than 56 per cent of the 

 present office population on Trinity Place and Church Street ; 50 per cent 

 on Broadway; 32 per cent on Nassau Street; 19 per cent on New Street, 

 and 15 per cent on Exchange Place. If the buildings on these streets were 

 increased to a uniform height of 30 stories, then the sidewalks on Broadway 

 would afford sufficient space for but 26 per cent of the occupants ; 20 per 

 cent on Trinity Place and Church Street; 11.9 per cent on Nassau Street; 

 8.9 per cent on New Street, and 8.4 per cent on Exchange Place. 



