Where the Neon Lights Are Bright—And Drivers Are No Longer Welcome

Cities such as NYC have great public transportation systems, so why not close some streets and make people use the subway, a bike, or their feet? Considering how expensive parking can be, why would you drive, anyway? I live in Southern California and reducing traffic is a much trickier notion out here. I would be happy ride a subway if we had one...

With a bit more inconvenience, people will consider the alternatives: Getting on a bus, a cab, a subway. Commuters will carpool so they can split the "extra" cost.

But, on reflection, it is quite obvious that closing down a street will decrease congestion - well, at least on the closed street ;P

For once, a sensible, limited approach to a serious problem, based on good empirical evidence. Closing off parts of a street that throws off the traffic patterns of all the other streets makes good sense. The rest of us can watch and see what happens. Ideally, *all* problems should be addressed in this manner.

For all you anecdotally overamped and informationally dereft naysayers - the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) and the Texas Transportation Institute have been doing research for many years on the dynamics of traffic flow and congestion. Counterintuitive as it is, there is very strong, well-documented data out there to support Mayor Bloomberg's plan. The evidence doesn't come just from the observed consequences of unplanned road closings due to things like earthquakes, but from the carefully observed results of targeted closings in major cities. I know it's more work to actually educate yourselves than to resort to the same old "elitist Democrat" name-calling and debunked "intuitive" solutions, but isn't it "hard work" that is so valued in our society?

I would like to suggest a very different approach. Instead of closing lanes, I suggest that lanes be doubled by reducing the size of each lane by one-half, and then allowing traffic that is no wider than 4' on those streets. There are existing prototypes of automobiles that seat two that are 3'2" wide, in addition to motorcycles and scooters. An added advantage would be that automobiles could fit through a traditional doorway, and radically increase parking options.

Closing off streets reduces "congestion", eh? Why SURE it does! So why not close them ALL down? ZERO CONGESTION! Great plan! Everybody will just have to stay put right where they are, but who cares? Getting rid of all that nasty congestion is WORTH IT!

the plan is foresighted, reversible if necessary, and drivers will make a work-around. rockefeller center is an example of what people do in appealing pedestrian streets. they are also thinking of prince street as a pedestrian street -- retailers are howling now, but like in athens, they will soon become vehmently anti-traffic.

Mayor Bloomberg is a new type of American politician that needs to be emulated in the years to come if New York and the United States is to succeed. He has helped to usher in a new "Era of Pragmatism." One in which the 21st Centruy will be defined by our governments ability to create and implement practical solutions to our common problems. If we succeed the United States best days will be ahead but if we fail the United States power, prestige, and competetiveness will be be behind us. Either way what we do right now will define us. And so far I believe Mayor Bloomberg is doing his part.

So many theories sound so good, and the statistics always line up, because the experiement is a model. A model simplifies things to make prediction easy. When you actually change the environment in which people live, they will, however, think faster than any planner can act. People will almost instantly adjust their behavior, not to meet the objectives of the planner, but to meet their own. I believe this is currently called game theory, though any observant person has always known it. My comment to the Mayor is 'good luck, you will need it.'

Automobiles gone in New York City - - that is the most idiotic brillant decision imaginable. It is time for the change to begin eliminating cars from our world and go to feet, bikes, mass transportation and optimize in terms of green and efficient how people move about on this planet earth. Way to go Bloonberg. Bring it on.

When TRAX--a highspeed ground-level rapid transit trolley system--was first proposed, everybody thought it would cost the city more than it was worth and nobody would use it. The opposite has been true--every day it seems that the TRAX trains get longer. Trolley tracks that were pulled up seventy--odd years ago are being replaced, and ridership increases proportionally. TRAX doesn't come into my neighborhood, which means we'd have to take a bus downtown to get to TRAX, and my husband gets sick on buses. So we're stuck, and I'm in the middle of complex medical work at the far end of the valley. We keep having to rent cards (expensive) or impose on our friends for rides. I wish they'd do away with that fifth traffic lane on several nearby streets and run a TRAX system in our neighborhood. I''d use it for sure. Creating some downtown one-way streets and closing two blocks of Main Street haven't been enough, but making rapid transit easier to use than personal vehicles will generally solve this sort of problem.

While New York City is getting greener, the (independent) City of Westmount (Quebec)is getting greyer and more toxic. Westmount's Mayor Marks closed its section of Montreal's Extension Bikepath for the 2nd winter, using the space for a huge (revenue producing) car-park - citing the (recently installed) collapsible posts are obstructing snow removal and the cars parked in the bikepath would benefit local businesses. The safety of the increasing number of all-season cyclists (now forced to use the car lane or pedestrian sidewalk) and the considerable tonnage of toxic gasses from 100 additional cars for 6 months? Be damned.

While New York is getting greener, Westmount (Quebec) is getting browner and more toxic. Westmount's Mayor Marks closed its section of Montreal's Extension Bikepath for the second winter, using its space for a huge revenue producing car park and citing that the (recently installed) collapsible posts are obstructing snow clearance and the car park would benefit local businesses.
The safety of the increasing number of all-season cyclists and the considerable tonnage of toxic gasses of 100 cars for six months? Be damned.