Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Car-Free Parks

Traffic Lights Don’t Belong on a Park Loop

By Stephen Miller | Sep 30, 2014 | 109 Comments

Two separate crashes in which cyclists struck and killed pedestrians on the Central Park loop have garnered more media attention than any other traffic safety issue in the past two months. In addition to the inevitable reemergence of a few bikelash trolls, the collisions have led to a round of less spiteful stories that still miss […]

Summer Streets and (Mostly) Car-Free Central Park: Same As Last Year

By Stephen Miller | Jun 19, 2014 | 22 Comments

Six years ago, when Summer Streets was introduced, the New York Times asked: Will it work? This year, the question is: Why isn’t the city doing more of it? The ciclovia, which attracted 300,000 people over three Saturdays last August, will mark its seventh year by returning to the East Side on August 2, 9, […]

What’s the Status of Car-Free Central Park and Prospect Park in 2014?

By Stephen Miller | Apr 21, 2014 | 30 Comments

Last year, the city announced that much of Central Park’s loop drives would go car-free all summer long. With temperatures warming, the park is again filling with people walking, jogging, and biking — all sharing space with car commuters looking for a rush-hour shortcut. Will it happen again — or expand — this year? Negotiations are […]

Flashback Friday: TA’s 1997 Car-Free Park/Earth Day Ride (With Chants!)

By Ben Fried | Jul 5, 2013 | 7 Comments

After news broke that the east and west drives of Central Park will be car-free for two months this summer, this seemed like a fitting installment from the vault of Clarence Eckerson this week: The Transportation Alternatives 1997 Earth Day ride, which held up the goal of a car-free park Central Park as a symbol […]

Car-Free Parks? Not During This Hudson River Greenway Drive-In Picnic

By Stephen Miller | May 1, 2013 | 27 Comments

New York City’s parks are supposed to be a respite from the noise and stress of the city. It seems a few people haven’t got the message — and are using the Hudson River Greenway bicycle and pedestrian path as their personal driveway to the Upper Manhattan waterfront. Reader Katty Van Itallie tells Streetsblog that she […]

Eyes on the Street: New Stripes for Pedestrians and Cyclists in Central Park

By Stephen Miller | Oct 23, 2012 | 12 Comments

Last month, Streetsblog reported that the Central Park loop would be getting a new lane configuration to clarify where pedestrians and cyclists belong, similar to changes recently implemented in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Less than 30 days after the announcement, walkers, joggers, and bike riders are all getting some extra room in the park, while the space […]

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