The Broadway Traffic-Stopper

Here’s an interesting article I found online: “Mayor Plans to Close Parts of Broadway to Traffic.” It seems that back in February, mayor Bloomberg proposed the closing of sections of major traffic zones to be made into planned pedestrian-only areas. Bloomberg is especially focusing on the section of Broadway Street that intersects with Seventh Avenue.

This area, which is featured in the picture above, is often congested to the point of a standstill, and the steady stream of pedestrians (many of whom are theatergoers) trying to cross the street slows down traffic immensely. The mayor proposes that completely closing off these areas of the street will not worsen the traffic, as you might think, but will actually make it faster.

Broadway diagonally intersects Seventh Avenue, and it is these intersections that cause the majority of the traffic. If the intersecting section of Broadway were to be closed off, says Bloomberg, we would see a huge lightening of the traffic on Seventh Avenue. Not only that, but pedestrians in the area will no longer have to worry about crossing a dangerous street to get to the Broadway theaters.

Closing the street definitely would have a huge effect on pedestrian traffic in the Broadway area. Not only that, but the closed off sections of the street could then be used as potential areas for malls and stores for theatergoers on their way to see a show in one of Broadway’s theaters. Hopefully this change will carry over into ticket sales, with more people wanting to see shows now that the area is much more pedestrian-friendly.

And here's an example of what the street could look like if Bloomberg's proposition comes into effect (definitely an improvement, if you ask me--though in this picture it looks like public transportation is still allowed access):