new-york-will-ban-cars-from-times-square

TopSpeed

By TPS Staff

Published Jul 12, 2007

New York's mayor want to ban cars from Times Square - and raise the price of street parking. The Department of Transportation wants to hire as a consultant Jan Gehl, who has helped cities like London and Copenhagen create less congested urban areas by taking back the streets from cars - and giving top priority to pedestrians and bicyclists.

The intentions are to reduce traffic and pollution, increasing mass transportation and ensuring that anyone can reach a park with just a 10-minute walk.

Times Square is "beyond the brink" with too many cars and pedestrians cramming into an inadequate amount of space. "We could take all of the pedestrians out of Times Square or we could take some or most of the traffic out - whatever," Gehl said. "I think that should be the strategy for reducing the vehicular traffic in this dense city."

"Another thing we can do is to reduce the number of parking spots," Jan Gehl said. "I would raise the price for parking right away."

The city also should consider taking parking off some avenues to transform them into tree-lined boulevards with wider sidewalks and outdoor cafes, he said.