Times Square a Pedestrian Zone

City officials have minimized traffic from 42nd to 47th Streets at Times Square all the way up Broadway until Columbus Circle in hopes of getting rid of traffic jams, pollution and frequent accidents with pedestrians.  They’ve added outside seating and shops in an attempt to make Times Square more attractive to visitors. The Pedestrian Plazas are now used for block parties and events such as the taste of New York event which was to take place later in the day that I visited.

On days when there are no events the extra space helps to alleviate pedestrian traffic by letting people spread out over a greater area. The pedestrian plaza can be transformed for different uses. As the sidewalks become over-crowed with slower traffic of shoppers and lines for Broadway shows, the plaza begins to be used as a makeshift express lane for resident New Yorkers trying to get by. At the same time the space is used by both tourists and New Yorkers to eat and lounge in the sun. Many tourists use this space to take pictures standing in front of the monuments without getting run over. People walking on the sidewalk could circumnavigate around them.

With the transformation of the two-way vehicular traffic into one way streets, along with the reductions of lanes, the streets are now safe for pedestrians to cross.  This reduction also brings a sense of ease to Times Square and seems less chaotic.  Bike lanes were also added to ensure the safety of the bikers and to help the flow of traffic by separating them from the faster vehicles on the road.

Bibliography

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Times Square. 6 6, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square (accessed 6 6, 2011).

McLachlan, Sean. Times Square becomes a pedestrian zone. 5 27, 2009. http://www.gadling.com/2009/05/27/times-square-becomes-a-pedestrian-zone/ (accessed 6 10, 2011).

Moon, Johnny. Times Square New York City. 2011.