I ♥ the New Pedestrian-Friendly Times Square

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14 Mar 2016

I ♥ the New Pedestrian-Friendly Times Square

I was just in New York (yay!), so of course I have to talk about the amazing transformation the city has made in its use of public space. (Keep in mind, this is the perspective of a tourist who is totally in love with NYC but really only gets there for a few days every five years or so.)

I’m reading about those changes in a new book called Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution, by the woman who played a big part in making those changes happen: Janette Sadik-Khan, former NYC Transportation Commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg (Seth Solomonow is co-author of the book).

The following stats are taken directly from the book’s chapter titled “Battle for a New Times Square”:

Old Times Square

89 percent of the space belonged to cars, even though 82 percent of the people passing through did so on foot.
Since there wasn’t enough room for all the pedestrians on the sidewalks (and since so many people love to stop and pose for pictures, see goofy tourist above), many people just spilled into the streets and into the path of angry, frustrated drivers.

New Times Square

They closed off Broadway to cars (through the square) and opened it to pedestrians. By routing vehicles around the non-grid-friendly Broadway (it famously cuts through the city on its own trajectory), they simplified traffic flow by restoring right angles. They made similar changes to nearby Herald Square. The book explains it in much more detail.

Here are some results (straight from the book):

Traffic overall moves 7 percent faster than before Broadway was closed (a move that most people thought would cripple traffic flow).
The number of pedestrians injured in car crashes dropped 35 percent.
Injuries for everyone–including people in cars–dropped 63 percent.
Local businesses benefited from better pedestrian access–so much so that by 2011 (two years after these changes), Cushman & Wakefield named Times Square one of the top 10 retail districts on the planet (for the first time in its rankings).

What amazes me is they managed to convince a skeptical population to close off a major artery in the most crowded part of town. And it IMPROVED traffic flow.

Go here for some great before-and-after shots of Times Square and other locations where innovative street design is making cities more people-friendly.

And they’re not done with Times Square yet.

Future Times Square looks even more amazing:

These are renderings provided by Times Square Alliance. The Times Square Alliance collaborated with Snøhetta and the NYC Department of Transportation on the plans for the transformation.

I can’t wait to go back!

4 Comments

Petrea Burchard

Would you believe I’ve never been to New York City?

14 Mar 2016 08:03 pm (@Twitter)
- Kim@OCDtravel
  
  What?!?! No, I would not believe that. ;) We must rectify that immediately.
  
  14 Mar 2016 08:03 pm (@Twitter)
Petrea Burchard

Would you believe I’ve never been to New York City?

14 Mar 2016 08:03 pm (@Twitter)
Mari

WOW! That is impressive! Haven’t been since 2006. And John’s never been. I so wanna take him there one day.

15 Mar 2016 07:03 am (@Twitter)

14 Mar 2016