New York City barricaded Broadway around Times and Herald Squares on Sunday night, turning stretches of Broadway into pedestrian plazas.
[Times Square Billboards. Creative Commons photo by Matt Mendoza]
With pedestrian traffic in Times Square up over 200% from 1980, the area was as riddled with people jams as it was with traffic jams. City officials think that re-routing auto traffic to Sixth and Seventh Avenues will open the area up, ease air pollution, and help businesses.
Not only will closing Broadway from 47th to 42nd Streets and 35th to 33rd Streets make the area more pleasant for foot traffic, the city’s Transportation Department predicts that the closures will actually ease traffic flow by eliminating confusing three-way intersections. They’re predicting that traffic on Seventh Avenue will speed up by 17% and by an impressive 66% on Sixth Avenue. Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said, “It’s good for traffic, it’s good for businesses and we think it’s going to be a great deal of fun.”
The plan is to turn the former thoroughfares into “pedestrian playgrounds.” They’ve already ripped out pedestrian islands and are planning more improvements to make the area more pleasant for foot traffic. Both Times and Herald Squares’ businesses are planning events to draw folks to the new, more walkable area with events like movie screenings and a live broadcast of the Tony Awards.
I just love seeing a city putting peoples’ needs before cars, and what better city than New York? With such a stellar transit system already in place, I wonder how many folks will be inspired to ditch their cars in favor of taking the train and strolling to their destinations via these new pedestrian plazas?
Not everyone is thrilled with the new traffic plans. The scheme will require a re-routing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and some folks argue that it will make it harder for people with disabilities to get around. So, what do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?
Sources: BBC News and NY Daily News
About Becky Striepe
