There’s no place quite like Times Square, and no exact precedent for the reclamation of street space along Broadway that Mayor Bloomberg and NYCDOT unveiled last week. But London’s pedestrian improvements to Trafalgar Square certainly invite comparison. DianaD describes those changes in this week’s StreetsWiki entry:

Because it formed the intersection of some of London’s busiest roads
(junction of Whitehall, The Mall, The Strand and Charing Cross roads),
Trafalgar Square had become an "undignified traffic roundabout."
Visitors had to cross several lanes of traffic, which carried 1500 cars
per hour, to reach the central monuments.

The redesign, completed in 2003, transformed the space in front of the National Gallery from this:

To this:

Check out Diana’s entry for more of the story.