Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Times Square

Yesterday’s Times Square Toll Was Terrible — But So Is a Typical Day of NYC Traffic Violence

By Brad Aaron and Ben Fried | May 19, 2017 | 11 Comments

Given the high-profile location, the number of victims, and recent instances of people using vehicles to kill for ideology, it's understandable that yesterday's crash drew so much attention. But it's important to recognize that as terrible as the Times Square carnage was for a single incident, the same human toll occurs on a daily basis on NYC streets -- it's just dispersed across the city.

Broadway and 43rd. After photo: David Meyer

The Times Square Plazas Are No Longer a Construction Zone

By David Meyer | Jan 3, 2017 | 10 Comments

Before 2009, Times Square was a hellish place to walk. Pedestrians outnumbered vehicles nine to one but were confined to just 10 percent of the street space. The creation of car-free plazas on Broadway changed the equation, and now those plazas are a permanent fixture of the street.

Better Rules for Plazas — It’s Not All About Times Square

By David Meyer | Mar 30, 2016 | 2 Comments

The City Council heard testimony today on Intro. 1109-A, which would give DOT authority over designating and regulating pedestrian plazas across the city. DOT has carved out nearly 70 plazas since 2008, but its jurisdiction over those plazas remains ambiguous. This matters for a few reasons. The reason that gets all the attention is the made-for-tabloids storyline […]

Broadway Ticket Sales Are Through the Roof. Damned Plazas!

By Brad Aaron | Feb 29, 2016 | 21 Comments

In case you missed it, the Broadway theater business is booming. According to the Broadway League, the 2014-2015 season saw the highest attendance in at least 30 years. In 2009-2010, gross ticket sales topped the billion-dollar mark for the first time in history, and have only gone up since. Something else happened in 2009. It’s when New York City […]

What’s Up With the Short Raised Bike Lane By Times Square?

By David Meyer | Feb 12, 2016 | 18 Comments

New curb-protected raised bike lane 7th Av/46th in Times Sq – sadly it’s only 1 block, w weak connexns to N & S pic.twitter.com/nPIzbMCUu4 — Jon Orcutt (@jonorcutt) January 21, 2016 Yes, there is now a short segment of raised bike lane on Seventh Avenue at Times Square. TransitCenter’s Jon Orcutt tweeted the picture above last […]

Times Square Coalition: Keep the Plazas, Regulate Naked People

By Brad Aaron | Sep 17, 2015 | 16 Comments

The Times Square Alliance and a coalition of electeds has a plan to address complaints about Times Square without destroying the hugely successful pedestrian plazas. The centerpiece of the proposal is to legally redefine the Broadway plazas as a public space with three regulated zones: “civic” zones for public seating areas and programmed events; “flow” zones for pedestrian throughput; […]

Show More Stories