A Victorian drinking fountain has been restored to its original location following conservation, but it is not fully functional and cannot dispense drinking water. The Princes Circus fountain was installed in 1879 to commemorate Queen Victoria's 60th year on the throne, but was originally in a different location. It used to be a bit further north, on the junction of New Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, opposite Coptic Street. In 2003, it was moved to sit in a fenced-off island space outside the Shaftesbury Theatre.
A study is underway that brings the city one step closer to implementing a seven-kilometre multi-use trail under the Gardiner Expressway. The study, which launched in December, is expected to be completed before the end of the year and will inform the planning of the trail, according to Ilana Altman, CEO of The Bentway, a non-profit that works to improve urban public spaces and is working with the city on the project.
an august group that includes the Make McGuinness Safe Coalition, New Yorkers for Parks, the 34th Ave Open Street Coalition, North Brooklyn Open Streets, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Municipal Arts Society, Alliance for Paseo Park, AIA NY, WXY, Center for Zero Waste Design, Friends of the QueensWay, Gotham Park, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, and our own parent company, Open Plans - is demanding that Mayor Mamdani rejigger City Hall to create a new office: the Deputy Mayor for the Public Realm.
Streets look better with trees. Sure, some might drop sap on your motor, but there's no denying that a road framed by leafy greens is much nicer on the eyes (not to mention better for the lungs). One of London's poshest retail destinations is the latest part of the capital to benefit from a green makeover. Sloane Street, a one-kilometre stretch which runs between Knightsbridge and Sloane Square, has been transformed with new trees, plant beds and wider pavements.
