Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Car-Free Parks

Eyes on the Street: The Part of Central Park That’s Only for Cars

By Stephen Miller | Dec 1, 2014 | 90 Comments

The Central Park loop now has a 20 mph speed limit, new lane markings, and shorter pedestrian crossings during car-free hours. The changes, implemented last week, came in response to two pedestrian fatalities in separate bicycle collisions over the summer. The park’s traffic signals remain unchanged, and the park is still a shortcut for taxis […]

Momentum Builds for Car-Free Trials in Central Park and Prospect Park

By Stephen Miller | Oct 9, 2014 | 10 Comments

The very first Streetfilm was released 10 years ago, for a campaign that’s on the verge of a major milestone today. On Tuesday, Council Members Mark Levine and Helen Rosenthal introduced a bill that would make the entirety of the Central Park loop car-free for three months next summer. The city would be required to […]

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 […]

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