Forget green cars and alternative fuels – the way to make areas truly green it seems, is to kick the vehicles out altogether.
That’s the case in the Broadway area as the city placed a ban on five blocks of Broadway as well as two blocks in Herald Square as vehicles attempted to navigate around the newly created pedestrian plazas with pedestrians lounging on lawn chairs and dancing to street musicians.
The move is part of a $1.5million pilot programme that is scheduled to last for six months and is meant to create new open space while cutting pollution and easing traffic. According to the Department of Transportation, closing pockets of Broadway and increasing green light timing will cut waits by 17 per cent on Seventh Avenue in Times Square and by 37 per cent at Sixth Avenue in Herald Square.
Nevertheless, the concept has received some criticism with complaints that drivers face higher bills by having to make detours around Broadway, as well as the problems it creates for delivery companies.
