N.Y. / Region|No Vehicles, but Plenty of People on Broadway
No Vehicles, but Plenty of People on Broadway
By DAVID W. DUNLAP MAY 24, 2009
Crowds clog Broadway in Times Square after the city began closing sections of the street. Traffic was diverted to Seventh Avenue. Credit Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times
Paul Ziemer and Pikkam So traveled to Times Square on Sunday from their home in Inwood, at the northern tip of Manhattan, and allowed their 14-month-old son, Benjamin, to do what few New Yorkers have ever done:
Walk safely right down the center of Broadway in the middle of the day.
On Sunday, the Bloomberg administration put a plan into effect to reduce traffic congestion in Midtown by closing two sections of Broadway to vehicles, from 47th to 42nd Streets and 35th to 33rd Streets. The idea is to eliminate the crosscurrents Broadway traffic creates on nearby avenues.
However, rather than suddenly apply a single tourniquet to the great diagonal limb of Broadway, officials closed it piecemeal throughout the afternoon and into the evening, more or less coordinating the project with a street fair on Seventh Avenue. Department of Transportation crews painted lane markers, hung new signs and adjusted traffic signals from Herald Square to Duffy Square, while pedestrians mobbed the sidewalks around them.
Because Broadway — like nature — abhors a vacuum, it took no coaching whatsoever to encourage the crowds to spill off the sidewalks and into the newly empty traffic lanes.
Mr. Ziemer and Ms. So made a point of coming to see a vehicle-free Broadway. They did not sound disappointed. "I've lived here for 15 years," Mr. Ziemer said, "and this was only closed for New Year's Eve" — not typically the best time for a stroll with a baby.
Ms. So said, "I like the experience because now I don't feel like I'm competing with cars."
One block away, Lev Teshler, from Kew Gardens, Queens, also found himself drawn to the middle of the street. "From my point of view, it's great," he said, "because I don't have to drive here."
And sure enough, a contrary opinion came from a cabdriver, Ben Stevens, who was caught in the vortex at Seventh Avenue and 45th Street. He did not mince words when asked his opinion of the closing.
Crowds clog Broadway in Times Square after the city began closing sections of the street. At right, traffic is diverted to Eighth Avenue. Credit John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times
"Nobody likes it," he said. "See the traffic? I hate it."
It is probably safe to say that the new traffic program, known formally as "Green Light for Midtown," will not get its real test until Tuesday, the first business day after the Memorial Day weekend.
Janette Sadik-Khan, the city's transportation commissioner, carefully noted the chance that some tinkering might result from that experience.
"It's an important first step to ease traffic and sidewalk congestion and create safe, attractive spaces that are good for business," she said. "But it's a work in progress, and we'll be monitoring the area closely during the initial adjustment period."
Though it sounds paradoxical to try to improve traffic flow by closing parts of a traffic artery, the transportation agency has its reasons. Vehicles are being banned where Broadway crosses Seventh Avenue (downtown-bound) and Avenue of the Americas (uptown-bound), like tracks in a switchyard. The hope is that this will improve the traffic flow on both avenues.
The remnants of Broadway on the affected blocks will become pedestrian plazas.
Seven bus lines that run downtown along Broadway — the M6, M7, M10, M20, M27, M30 and M104 — will be rerouted to Seventh Avenue on Monday. All of the crosstown streets will remain open.
Shortly before 8 p.m., the last vehicles passed down Broadway at 47th Street — a police van, a taxi and several pedicabs. City employees then placed eight orange barrels across Broadway, prompting a flurry of honking from vehicles and forceful whistling from the police officers who were waving traffic to the side.
"It's amazing how quickly people materialize on the streets when you close them off," said Ms. Sadik-Khan, as she watched pedestrians drift onto Broadway.
The sudden shift was a surprise to Alex Dzh, 23, a pedicab driver, who seemed bewildered by the orange barrels adorned with "Do not enter" signs. "Ten minutes ago, it was open," he said. "Now it's closed. I don't know what happened."
A. G. Sulzberger contributed reporting.
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: No Vehicles, But Plenty Of People On Broadway. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Times Square via Broadway? Not Anymore. MAY 25, 2009