Broadway Gets a Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly Makeover
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island 
on 07.15.08
Image Credit: Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times
NYC Improves a Major Mid-Town Street
New York City, which recently unveiled a plan to be more bicycle friendly and is considering a bike-share program, will soon boast a bicycle and pedestrian friendly public esplanade along one of its most famous streets, Broadway. When the new street, to be called Broadway Boulevard, is opened in August, it "will run from 42nd Street to Herald Square" and "change that section of Broadway from a four-lane to a two-lane street." Removing two lanes will enable the city to add "a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway with cafe tables, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters."
Will Broadway be Part of a Broader Trend?
The makeover of Broadway is part of Mayor Bloomberg's plan to reduce emissions and traffic in the city, and is a sign that although he failed to introduce congestion pricing in the city, Mr. Bloomberg "intends to push ahead with smaller-scale initiatives to wrest at least part of the street from cars and trucks." At at cost of $700,000, the project will bring more open space and greenery, as well as fewer cars and noise, to a prominent thoroughfare in one of the world's most prominent cities. Will this be an isolated, cute initiative, or part of a broader trend towards cities build on a human, rather than vehicular, scale? Time will tell. . .
Via: ::NY Times
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Interesting, but I'm disappointed with NYC's attempts so far. I have in mind a project at 96th st, which has had the effect of narrowing of some segments of sidewalk, and actually INCREASING the space alloted for passenger automobile parking. We were taken whole on that one.
Bravo. Now it's time to convert the taxi fleet to hybrids instead of V6 boats.
Funny to hear about a car with a 6 cylinder engine as a 'boat'.
I wonder what of my old 1972 Cadillac Coupe DeVille with the 501 cubic inch / 8.2 liter V8 (I took out the 472 engine), or my old 1968 Buick Electra 225 convertible with its 430 cubic inch V8... those were land yachts.
Bloomberg is trying. He tried as hard as he could for the congestion charge. Albany did some Tamany Hall move on him and didn't even bring it to a vote. There have been many cycling improvements here. It's just so big and jammed that it's hard to get everything done... not to mention the competing 'opinions'.
vsk