New York City - 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) and 6 1/2 Avenue (Midtown pedestrian walkway)

As a born and raised New Yorker, I've always referred to "Avenue of the Americas" as 6th Ave.--I noticed (maybe I wasn't looking carefully before:)), the street signs now have both designations [6th Ave. and AOTA], when did the dual naming happen?
I was driving on W. 54th, and encountered a STOP sign, between 6th and 7th Ave., the "streets" name was 6 1/2 Ave. [it is not actually a street--but a pedestrian "alley" which goes from 51st to 57th streets]--when did this naming occur?
PS: With STOP signs on each of the cross streets, traffic backups must be huge (I noticed this, today 7/4--no traffic^.)

As a born and raised New Yorker, I've always referred to "Avenue of the Americas" as 6th Ave.--I noticed (maybe I wasn't looking carefully before:)), the street signs now have both designations [6th Ave. and AOTA], when did the dual naming happen?
I was driving on W. 54th, and encountered a STOP sign, between 6th and 7th Ave., the "streets" name was 6 1/2 Ave. [it is not actually a street--but a pedestrian "alley" which goes from 51st to 57th streets]--when did this naming occur?
PS: With STOP signs on each of the cross streets, traffic backups must be huge (I noticed this, today 7/4--no traffic^.)

6 1/2 Avenue is pretty new, there was an article about it in the Times about a month ago about how one of the groups (DOT, Midtown Partnership, Times Square Cooperative) were trying to promote the route between buildings in this area and campaigning for traffic lights.

I've never called it Avenue of the Americas. Apparently you and I are not alone.

The avenue's official name was changed to Avenue of the Americas in 1945 by the City Council, at the behest of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who signed the bill into law on October 2, 1945. The intent was to honor the nations of the Organization of American States. It was felt at the time that the name would provide greater grandeur to a shabby street, and to promote trade with the Western Hemisphere. After the name change, round signs were attached to streetlights on the avenue, showing the national seals of all the nations in the OAS.
....
New Yorkers seldom used the avenue's new name, and the street has been labelled as both "Avenue of the Americas" and "Sixth Avenue" in recent years....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Avenue_(Manhattan)

As a born and raised New Yorker, I've always referred to "Avenue of the Americas" as 6th Ave.--I noticed (maybe I wasn't looking carefully before:)), the street signs now have both designations [6th Ave. and AOTA], when did the dual naming happen?
I was driving on W. 54th, and encountered a STOP sign, between 6th and 7th Ave., the "streets" name was 6 1/2 Ave. [it is not actually a street--but a pedestrian "alley" which goes from 51st to 57th streets]--when did this naming occur?
PS: With STOP signs on each of the cross streets, traffic backups must be huge (I noticed this, today 7/4--no traffic^.)

See:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/30/new-york-city-mulls-6-12-avenue-proposal-linking-pedestrian-walkways-in-midtown/
http://gothamist.com/2012/03/26/meet_me_on_6_12_avenue_and_53rd_str.php

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/06/nyregion/public-lives.html
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/signs-of-decline-on-the-avenue-of-the-americas/

if they would name the BDFM subway lines the Avenue of the Americas line rather than the 6th ave line, maybe people would use it more?

if they would name the BDFM subway lines the Avenue of the Americas line rather than the 6th ave line, maybe people would use it more?Do you think the IND is underutilized? What makes you think that? :confused:

I think the Sixth Ave. signs were installed because tourists got lost looking for Sixth Ave.

I have used the 6 1/2 Ave. route (though I've never called it that) for decades. It's so much quicker and less crowded than walking along the avenues, and it's nice to avoid the rain/wind/heat/cold by ducking through building lobbies.

I think the Sixth Ave. signs were installed because tourists got lost looking for Sixth Ave.

I have used the 6 1/2 Ave. route (though I've never called it that) for decades. It's so much quicker and less crowded than walking along the avenues, and it's nice to avoid the rain/wind/heat/cold by ducking through building lobbies.

I've also used these passageways--but until 7/4/12, I never saw the name "6 1/2 Ave,"

I think the Sixth Ave. signs were installed because tourists got lost looking for Sixth Ave.

I have used the 6 1/2 Ave. route (though I've never called it that) for decades. It's so much quicker and less crowded than walking along the avenues, and it's nice to avoid the rain/wind/heat/cold by ducking through building lobbies.

Ditto, plus if you have a few minutes, there is a large art gallery, Marlborough, on the second floor of the building on the west side of the passage. Just tell the security guard you want to go up to Marlborough.

I've never called it Avenue of the Americas. Apparently you and I are not alone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Avenue_(Manhattan)

Definitely not. I know it and refer to it as 6th Avenue. I always thought of the "AOTA" designation as a "nickname". There are a lot of those in NYC, like West 84th Street being known as Edgar Allen Poe Street, that people rarely use.

6 1/2 Ave is now showing up on Google Maps as well. Not sure how long it's been there, but I noticed it today after reading this thread.

6 1/2 Avenue is pretty new, there was an article about it in the Times about a month ago about how one of the groups (DOT, Midtown Partnership, Times Square Cooperative) were trying to promote the route between buildings in this area and campaigning for traffic lights.

The naming might be new, but the creation of the "alley" is really a zoning requirement to ease pedestrian crowding on 6th and 7th Avenue and Broadway. Although the intent was to create a mid-block setback for office towers fronting the avenues, a few of the newer buildings have more of a "tunnel" effect. Further, although there is no outdoor alleyway, the mid-block connectors actually continue inside the buildings to the south of 51st Street. You can walk through a lobby area in the Time-Life building (betw 51 and 50), 1251 (the old Exxon HQ btw 49 and 50), McGraw Hill (49 and 48, although the new alley way has opened within the last two years next to Oceana restaurant), and the building between 47 and 48. I work in 1251, and this info was provided by a zoning specialist when I was in my MS Real Estate program at NYU.

The naming might be new, but the creation of the "alley" is really a zoning requirement to ease pedestrian crowding on 6th and 7th Avenue and Broadway. . . I work in 1251, and this info was provided by a zoning specialist when I was in my MS Real Estate program at NYU.

[combining replies to several messages]

Get him or her on the phone. Google Maps as well as autmobile GPS data are both notorious for being unable to differentiate between what the City Council enacts as an honorary street name as opposed to the actual street name. For example, both Google as well as Navteq, a large supplier of GPS map data, label a certain street in Brooklyn as Christoforo Colombo Blvd. Let me assure you that if you stop the average person in the neighborhood and ask "Where is Christoforo Colombo Blvd?" either you will get no response or they will wonder what you are smoking because EVERYONE calls this street by its correct name, 18th Avenue. This is not only the reality of Brooklyn but also other boroughs as well.

I have some doubts if there is a 6½ Avenue regardless of any signs but I would need to see the official maps in the Municipal Building to know for sure. Google Maps in this case is legally worthless.

Oh, I hadn't realized there were actual signs that say "6 1/2 Avenue." That's hysterical, and wonderful. I can't wait to give someone directions to "make a left onto 6 1/2 Ave." They'll think I've had one too many cosmos (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

Oh, I hadn't realized there were actual signs that say "6 1/2 Avenue." That's hysterical, and wonderful. I can't wait to give someone directions to "make a left onto 6 1/2 Ave." They'll think I've had one too many cosmos (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

I hear you can get a good Cosmo on Fashion Avenue. :D

I learned about this set of passageways when I was working on 7th Ave. by the (former) two Sheratons. Actually, in addition to the outdoor routes, I always passed through what appeared to be a very warm hall with movie posters and the Le Meridien lobby...is this not the usual routing?

I work adjacent to the "new" 6 1/2 Ave. and now it's just a matter of time before a pedestrian gets killed along that route. Drivers aren't seeing or stopping for the stop signs and pedestrians are wandering across with a leap of faith. Not a good idea, in my opinion. I appreciate all of the walkways up to 57th St., but I'm not impressed with how the car traffic is taking to the new stop signs mid-block.

I work adjacent to the "new" 6 1/2 Ave. and now it's just a matter of time before a pedestrian gets killed along that route. Drivers aren't seeing or stopping for the stop signs and pedestrians are wandering across with a leap of faith. Not a good idea, in my opinion.
Your comment above makes me think of the ridiculous "extra" traffic light on 3rd Avenue between 51st and 52nd Sts. The idea is that they want pedestrians to cross 3rd Ave there instead of that intersection of 3rd & 51st but it is incredibly dangerous to do so as when the crossing light is green, the light on 51st Street going west is also green. So many of the drivers turning right onto 3rd IGNORE the traffic light mid-block putting pedestrians in danger.

I work adjacent to the "new" 6 1/2 Ave. and now it's just a matter of time before a pedestrian gets killed along that route. Drivers aren't seeing or stopping for the stop signs and pedestrians are wandering across with a leap of faith. Not a good idea, in my opinion. I appreciate all of the walkways up to 57th St., but I'm not impressed with how the car traffic is taking to the new stop signs mid-block.

Agreed. I walked past it twice yesterday. Better yet, I noticed the signs say "pedestrian avenue," a term I have never before heard.

Will the signs for Rockefeller Plaza now be changed to reflect this new designation?

Will the signs for Rockefeller Plaza now be changed to reflect this new designation?

"Pedestrian" is a generous term for the people who stand around gawking on Rockefeller Plaza. ;)

Your comment above makes me think of the ridiculous "extra" traffic light on 3rd Avenue between 51st and 52nd Sts. The idea is that they want pedestrians to cross 3rd Ave there instead of that intersection of 3rd & 51st but it is incredibly dangerous to do so as when the crossing light is green, the light on 51st Street going west is also green. So many of the drivers turning right onto 3rd IGNORE the traffic light mid-block putting pedestrians in danger.

...and yet, there's a perfectly normal at-the-intersection crosswalk intersection on the south side of 51st. I use it pretty much daily when I'm in town. So, yeah, that other crosswalk certainly does feel extraneous.

"Pedestrian" is a generous term for the people who stand around gawking on Rockefeller Plaza. ;)

Right! And tell them to get out of my way. :D

...and yet, there's a perfectly normal at-the-intersection crosswalk intersection on the south side of 51st. I use it pretty much daily when I'm in town. So, yeah, that other crosswalk certainly does feel extraneous.

It's a sensible anti-gridlock measure. In several places in Midtown where there is very heavy cross-avenue pedestrian traffic (the others that come to mind immediately are on 5th and 6th Aves near Rockefeller Center), they move the crosswalk on one side of the intersection (the side cars turn onto) to midblock so that vehicles turning onto the avenue from the side streets are able to pull out of the way of crosstown traffic instead of having to wait for pedestrians to clear the crosswalk. I don't know how heavy pedestrian traffic is at 51st and 3rd, but the mid-block crosswalks near Rockefeller Center are very effective at improving cross-town traffic flow while still allowing people to cross the avenue.

It's a sensible anti-gridlock measure. In several places in Midtown where there is very heavy cross-avenue pedestrian traffic (the others that come to mind immediately are on 5th and 6th Aves near Rockefeller Center), they move the crosswalk on one side of the intersection (the side cars turn onto) to midblock so that vehicles turning onto the avenue from the side streets are able to pull out of the way of crosstown traffic instead of having to wait for pedestrians to clear the crosswalk. I don't know how heavy pedestrian traffic is at 51st and 3rd, but the mid-block crosswalks near Rockefeller Center are very effective at improving cross-town traffic flow while still allowing people to cross the avenue.

It's right outside the 17th Precinct Police Station and Fire Station (don't remember the company numbers) so it's probably there to improve flow into that area.

I lived on 10th Ave for years, I knew 6th Ave is Avenue of the Americas. The official name is Avenue of the Americas, at least the post office goes by that name, and my former company's address also use AotA on the address label. But I never use AotA, I always say 6th Ave. Maybe because it's much shorter name. Just like I call my niece Liz instead of Elizabeth.

6th Ave is much better name for tourists to use. It's too much to translate the name Avenue of the Americas for a foreigner. It's much easy just say 6th Ave in any languages.

I lived on 10th Ave for years, I knew 6th Ave is Avenue of the Americas. The official name is Avenue of the Americas, at least the post office goes by that name, and my former company's address also use AotA on the address label. But I never use AotA, I always say 6th Ave. Maybe because it's much shorter name. Just like I call my niece Liz instead of Elizabeth.

6th Ave is much better name for tourists to use. It's too much to translate the name Avenue of the Americas for a foreigner. It's much easy just say 6th Ave in any languages.

Also beginning with 5th Ave., the aves. are all numbered going east to west--so a tourist would expect 6th to be right after 5th--AOTA (to the unknowing) would not be easily found. [Going west to east, there is 3rd, 2nd and 1st--the named aves. between 3rd and 5th are not easily found (if you are unfamiliar with the naming system).]
PS: I'm afraid of adding Broadway into this discussion.:D]

6th Ave is much better name for tourists to use. It's too much to translate the name Avenue of the Americas for a foreigner. It's much easy just say 6th Ave in any languages.

Who translates street names?

As seen on the DOT Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NYCDOT?ref=stream), most recent press release from DOT on this nonsense:

NYC DOT Announces Completion Of “6 ½ Avenue,” Connecting Midtown Public Spaces With New, Safer Pedestrian Crossings (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2012/pr12_44.shtml)

Excerpt:

“We're making changes to enhance the valuable pedestrian space that we already have throughout the city,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “Even lifelong New Yorkers aren’t aware that some of these places exist, hidden within buildings in the densest part of the city. These enhancements will tap into these spaces and energize them with foot traffic.”

Editorial comment: :D