Times Square is car-free

Times Square is now Pedestrian-only along Broadway Avenue. I'd heard about it, I'd read about it (this is a great article on the urban planning and transportation rerouting involved in the process: New York Magazine), but I hadn't seen it with my very own eyes yet.

It's incredible, Times Square is once again new and filled with possibility. It's reborn as a pedestrian haven, where one can lounge on the public chairs, and admire the crazy lights without fear of being trampled by taxis.

What I like about it is that it's not just a nod to tourism, by making it easier for visitors to see one of NY's most famous landmarks. As an urban intervention, it's a wonderful step in the "right" direction of a more landscape-unrbanist city. I'm excited about the end game being a linear park on Broadway dissecting the city, it's better for quality of life, adds an element of green to the urbanscape, and I also believe it will help congestion by forcing people to spread their choices rather than bottle necking on Broadway.

I'm excited about it, and can't wait to see this project continue. Janetter Sadik-Khan, transportation commissioner, are you hiring? I'm an urban designer wanting to do more transit alternatives and city-wide pedestrian initiatives. Seriously, a Jane Jacobs sensibility meeting Robert Moses scale? This rocks!