From the Post
New York City will close two lanes to cars on Broadway in midtown to make way for a bike lane and a pedestrian walkway with cafe tables.
The esplanade, called Broadway Boulevard, will run from 42nd Street eight blocks south to Herald Square, The New York Times reported Friday.
When it opens in mid-August it will change that section of Broadway from a four-lane to a two-lane street.
The project is in line with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's vision of reducing traffic and pollution by encouraging bike riding and other alternatives to cars.
Planters filled with flowers will separate the pedestrian areas from car traffic.
Work on the project has started without a formal announcement.
Wow. Road diets in New York City. Has the age of the car reached it's apex?
More at the Times
She said the city was spending $700,000 to create the string of blocklong plazas from 42nd to 35th Streets. That includes painting the bike lane green, buying the chairs, tables, benches, umbrellas and planters and applying a coat of small-grained gravel mixed with epoxy onto the pedestrian areas, which will set them off from both the street and the bicycle path.
Other recent initiatives from the Transportation Department include banning cars on Park Avenue on three Saturdays in August and exploring a bicycle-sharing program.
This looks like a great idea at first glance. However it looks like the bike path will be between the original sidewalk and the new pedestrian area. If this is the case what are they thinking? This will result in bike and pedestrian conflicts/incidents.
Posted by: AJ | July 11, 2008 at 04:36 PM
Yeah I saw that too. It's weird. I wonder who will use the pedestrian area?
Posted by: washcycle | July 11, 2008 at 04:40 PM