An off-street rail mass transit access improvement shall provide a new point of unobstructed off-street public access to a rail mass transit station or facility. It shall immediately adjoin, and be accessible without any obstruction from, an arcade, a building entrance recess area, a corner arcade, a corner circulation space, a public sidewalk, a sidewalk widening or a public plaza, each of which shall have a minimum horizontal dimension equal to the width of the rail mass transit access improvement. The rail mass transit access improvement may be provided within a building but shall not be enclosed by any doors. The area it occupies within a building shall not be counted toward the floor area of the zoning lot.

The Chairperson of the City Planning Commission may certify that an off-street rail mass transit access improvement satisfies the requirements of Section 81-45 (Pedestrian Circulation Space), provided that such improvement is approved by the entity which operates the mass transit station or facility and meets the following standards:

(a)        Dimensions

An off-street mass transit access improvement shall have a minimum clear, unobstructed width of not less than 15 feet and a minimum clear, unobstructed height from finished floor to finished ceiling of not less than eight feet.

(b)        Obstructions

An off-street mass transit access improvement shall be free of obstructions except for building columns and shall provide a continuous, unobstructed path at least 15 feet wide connecting the public sidewalk, pedestrian circulation space or public plaza with the rail mass transit station or facility.

(c)        Hours of public accessibility

An off-street rail mass transit access improvement shall be accessible to the public during the hours when the circulation areas to which it connects are open to the public or during such hours as are otherwise approved by both the Chairperson and the operating entity of the mass transit station or facility.

(d)        Enclosures

The rail mass transit access improvement may be provided within a building but shall not be enclosed by any doors unless the Chairperson certifies that such improvement is an integral part of the building lobby and public circulation space, and such doors are secured only during the hours that the circulation areas of the rail mass transit facility to which it connects are closed.

(e)        Maintenance

An off-street rail mass transit access improvement shall be maintained by the owner of the development or enlargement.

One and a half times the area of the new off-street rail mass transit access improvement measured at street level shall, upon the Chairperson's certification, count toward the minimum area of pedestrian circulation space required under the provisions of Section 81-45, up to a maximum of 3,000 square feet.