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Coming soon to Times Square and Herald Square: Vehicle-free Broadway! Starting on Memorial Day, two stretches of Broadway, from 42nd to 47th streets and from 32nd to 35th streets, will transformed into pedestrian plazas in an experiment that will last through the end of the year and may become permanent, the Post reports. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce the plan today, and promise that the change will actually improve the overall traffic flow, because Broadway disrupts traffic where it intersects with other streets. As part of the changes, Seventh Avenue will be widened from three to four lanes at 45th Street.
An unnamed official tells the Post, "The big winner here is Sixth Avenue. When you go up through the 20s, you hit a wall at Herald Square. There's a 90-second traffic signal. Broadway gets 30 seconds. Sixth Avenue gets 30 seconds and 34th Street gets 30 seconds. When this change is made, Sixth Avenue might have 55 seconds [for motorists to zoom cross 34th Street]." Just think what you could do with all those extra seconds!
Transportation expert Jeffrey Zupan tells the Times, "The lower the volume is on Broadway—or if you eliminate it altogether—then traffic is going to move better. The win-win is that the space that you’re freeing up will be used by pedestrians." According to the Post, a similar proposal was shot down by Macy's in the 1980s because executives feared the pedestrian islands would be overtaken by the homeless. The unnamed official promises, "Macy's is on board this time, and the homeless aren't really an issue now."
Last summer the city changed part of Broadway from 42nd Street to 35th Street from a four-lane into a two-lane street, creating a promenade for pedestrians and cyclists, with tables, chairs and planters. The new plan will have a similar look, but with the entire street at pedestrians' disposal. And Bloomberg may also create another partial promenade from 47th Street north to Columbus Circle. And after that, the world!
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I love it, but I wonder how businesses on Broadway will react. Potential plus: More walk-in business. Minus: How are they going to get shipments, etc?
Aside from the inability to get deliveries, I don't really see how businesses will be impacted in Times Square. It's so pedestrian-heavy as it is making it actually pedestrian-friendly could be a good thing. People already regularly spill out onto the streets from the crowded sidewalks. I imagine tourists would be even more inclined to linger there if they had more space. It sounds like a (cautiously optimistic) win/win.
Why do you hate people so much? If you don't like lots of people, New York City is NOT the place for you.
What are you talking about? I don't see anything in MT's post that says he hates people.
Personally, I love this idea. Doubly so for anything that ticks off "thefacts." Between this, Broadway Boulevard, Summer Streets and maybe Williamsburg Walks, it's going to be a great summer.
Excellent! More room for illegal street vendors!
Would you please run for mayor? I don't think anyone who thought about this dumbass idea has even considered more street vendors. It's going to be just like 34th Street where you can't even walk on the sidewalk because people are crowded around street vendors selling knock-off purses.
yea but now at least you can just walk around the illegal street vendors on the sidewalk by using the street!
Timmy,
Read below what the head of the illegal street peddlers, NJ resident Bobby Lederman, released yesterday to his straggly band of followers regarding this proposal:
"The good side:
By expanding, enlarging and transforming the public spaces known as "sidewalks," and including entire streets and huge avenues as new pedestrian walkways/malls, there will be a dramatic increase in potential vending spots."
Homeless really aren't an issue now-sure right. Just take a stroll into Penn Station. The bum population is exploding. Once it warms up, they will be working on their tans above ground. These officials must have clocked a lot of overtime to come up with this proposal. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
At least they'll smell better in the fresh air.
"Macy's is on board this time, and the homeless aren't really an issue now."
Apparently Bloomberg never rides the trains from Coney Island into the city in the morning.
jeez louise! while i am all in favor of pedestrianizing streets, what is supposed to be done about the bike lane on broadway? i hope very much they place one on 7th avenue! also, why the F do the tourist destinations get this nice treatment? what about locations that are the destinations of everyday new yorkers? and finally, why not just try to cut down on city traffic in general by imposing congestion pricing and improving mass transit instead of these half-assed partial street closure schemes?!
I'd imagine that this is happening because Bloomie's congestion pricing failed, so this is plan B. Getting his way any way he can.
And why do tourist spots get more attention? Probably becasue Times Square is the definition of New York to people from outside the city. If this helps cram some more tourists into the city, perhaps more revenue from outside the city will come into the city. I can't say that this is what will happen, but I'm willing to bet that's the plan.
If we can't just walk around the herds of slow walking tourists by walking just off the sidewalk then what are we going to do? It's going to be pedestrian traffic chaos!
If you're not willing to pay for congestion pricing we'll just make the city so pedestrian friendly you won't even want to drive in it.
this is a genius move.
Run carpeting all the way up Broadway and have little kiosks that sell sunglasses and cell phones. Oh, and don't forget a few dying palm trees.
I love this idea, but I have a sneaking suspicion that that quote about the homeless may no longer be relevant as the economy declines further.
The car is no longer king.
Interesting idea -- I'm in the "wait and see" camp, though, because I'm not sure what it will do to traffic.
My concern is the traffic transferring from Broadway onto Seventh, (and then back onto Broadway, and then back onto Seventh, and then back onto Broadway, I guess). If traffic moves smoothly...excellent idea. If, on the other hand, traffic becomes an ever-expanding, box-blocking mess that spreads throughout midtown, then it's not such a great idea.
The sheer aggravation of a huge traffic jam might moderately reduce the number of cars -- but most cars in midtown are taxis anyways, and they're not going to give up their jobs. (And even if they did, fewer taxis = not being able to find one when you need one.)
I'm cautiously optimistic -- but this might be a disaster.
True. The traffic won't magically disappear and the congestion just gets moved elsewhere. How many of these failed pedestrian mall experiments do we need? If you don't like cars and trucks, go live on a farm.
Until you actually do the experiment you don't know if it will be a success or failure.
The answer is to continue these street openings until the congestion is moved to New Jersey, Westchester and Lawn Guyland.
I like the plan, but I agree with many of you that it remains to be seen how the other avenues will be effected...I still want to see parts of 42nd street closed to traffic since it's frustrating to walk on its cramped, narrow sidewalks. Love it or hate it, Times Square is the main tourist attraction in the City, and it should be more friendly to its visitors.
I don't understand this.
why close just a few blocks in two sections?
I have a feeling he's trying to piss as many people off before he leaves office. not the rich, of course.
they're bestest buds.
not the first time a politico did something like that.
Geez baby, you can be factually correct without being an asshole!
There is no end to this smart man's stupidity and hubris. His disdain for automobiles is and will continue to wreak havoc on the necessary flow of traffic in this city. The area bounded by 42 - 30th streets, and Madison to 8th avenues will be a drop dead zone. It's a good thing we outsourced the garment industry and the light manufacturing from these areas years ago, they would be out of business in weeks.
Please if you have a half a brain in your head, do not vote for this pompous dilettante, regardless of his opponent or party affiliation.
His disdain for automobiles in Midtown is very, very appreciated.
Another attempt by Bloomberg and the hippies in Transportation Alternatives and the hippy DOT commissioner, Sadik-Khan, trying to turn New York into New Seattle, or New Boulder, or New Portland.
They want the Greatest City in the World to resemble the Suburbia they left.
If you want a pedestrian mall, there is one just the other side of the Nassau County border.
Do you seriously think that big city = congested automobile traffic? Ironically, it's just the opposite. Go to the suburbs surrounding Houston and Atlanta and you'll see 1000 cars for every pedestrian. If anything, this move makes the area MORE dense and therefore more urban.
Ummm, there are more cars in the suburbs, usually 2 cars per family. Ever heard of the soccer mom?
Never let the facts get in the way of thefacts.
"Ever heard of the soccer mom?"
Ever hear of the Brooklyn (Trolley) Dodgers?
People have been co-existing with traffic in NYC since 1624 or so. Get used to it. NYC ain't Boulder.
What do public trolley cars have to do with private automobiles?
When they were called the Trolley Dodgers, trolleys were privately owned, FYI.
Either way, the point is, people and vehicles have co-existed in this city for centuries, until these hippies at DOT and TransAlt arrived on the scene with their Suburban Mentality and pinings to turn NYC into the Damplatz.
If you hang out or spend time in TSQ you arent a new yorker. Nobody ever wants to go there. This is for tourists.
And for those of you dislike cars, they arent going anywhere, this is America...however...if you do dislike cars so much, I assume you are in favor of letting GM etc go bankrupt. I know I am. I hope they are liquidated.
Right.. because real New Yorkers don't go to Broadway shows.
.. and real New Yorkers don't live in midtown.
.. and real New Yorkers don't work in midtown.
You are SOOO right.
Well what about the... OOOoo! Shiny building!
Obviously you've never worked in retail. Have you ever seen the backside of outdoor malls, promenades or even indoor malls? Delivery comes through the loading dock in the rear of the store!
Thank you synik. While I think this is still doable in terms of making deliveries work, babyhitler is being an idiot not realizing that everywhere else in the country has loading docks.
People here also keep mentioning how this is already done in Europe, but no European city is as condensed as Manhattan, and no European country consumes more than we do, thus increasing our need for efficient, high volume means of constantly restocking shit.
I hope they still have a way to get emergency vehicles thru there, otherwise crime may sky rocket!
You'll die in an ambulance if you didn't die before it got there. 5 PM, 3:30 mins to go along 14th street as it runs along Union Square. 3 traffic lights, 3 or so mins. Your dead. Wonder if someone should start air ambulance choppers in the city.
Did it occur to you that without traffic on Broadway (of course they'll let emergency vehicles in) and less traffic in general because of the disincentive to drive, that traffic in general will flow smoother and faster and in particular emergency vehicles can get through faster? Lives will be saved because of this much-needed plan.
sounds genius!
Very happy to see this happen. I live in this neighborhood and the crowding of tourists makes it almost impossible to navigate my own street.
This will allow tourists and locals to get a lot more space between eachother. Everyone will be happier.
The comments by many here lead me to wonder if any of these folks have actually ever left New York (besides the time growing up in Ohio).
Many cities in Europe, for example, have vibrant retail pedestrian streets. Some have entire pedestrianized disticts. And yet, somehow they still manage to get deliveries (off-hours, you know.. exactly when most businesses are CURRENTLY getting their deliveries because they have less customers then), cars drive around them, and an ambulance pulls in if it needs to.
Seriously though, I work smack in the middle of TSQ and it would be nice to have somewhere to sit.
You want a pedestrianized street? You don't even have to leave the five boros. There is Fulton Street Mall in Downtown Brooklyn. The only traffic is buses, local deliveries and emergency vehicles.
Rhonda - some of these same folks were probably scared of Y2K.
You sound like such an ignorant snob. Can't you make a comment without making a condecending remark about someone being born in Ohio or the mid-west? As if anyone has control over where their parents raise them? It takes a lot of courage for people to move here and make a life for themselves, especially amongst cutrual snobs like yourself. Bet you wish you had that kind of courage.
32nd to 35th + 42nd to 47th = eight blocks, not seven.
I noticed a lot of main shopping thoroughfares in England have been pedestrianized in the last 10-15 years. It certainly cut down on the noise and made walking across from store to store a lot easier. A net improvement I would say.
If you need a car to shop, the suburbs are better bet.
"If you need a car to shop, the suburbs are better bet."
Agreed.
"A pedestrian mall? Which exit?"
there are vehicle-free shopping areas/markets in large densely-populated cities all over the world, including cities more densely populated than nyc (hello tokyo?).
i think this is a great idea. nyc is very much a pedestrian and public transport city. bloomberg recognizes and promotes this, to the benefit of tourists and residents alike. who really cares if commuters get frustrated?
as to traffic flow patterns, i don't see this affecting much. maybe i'm wrong but it was already down to 2 lanes in parts, these should be absorbed by 9th/7th/5th ave...
Here in Shanghai we have E. Nanjing Rd, which really resembles a pedestrianized Times Square and is thus one of the city's biggest attractions. A similar move in New York will make the area a bigger draw for tourists and locals alike, and probably should have been implemented years ago.
i ride a bike through there and i cant wait to hit some of you stupid pedestrians. you fat lazy bastards.
Good luck, bike nazi, some peds have a nasty habit of carrying knives and you could get "kissed" by one on your little ride.
How 'bout a nice bus / bike lane on those blocks?
The big scary buses would keep the stupid peds from absent-mindedly wandering into the bike lane (without looking, of course) so krillz wouldn't have to hit 'em, and the buses would get to speed down 7 blocks, almost like a mini BRT lane. But then that would kill the whole "this will actually SPEED traffic" line that the city is floating to mollify the 1% of new yorkers who drive through there.