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London’s Trafalgar Square Goes Green… Literally.

trafalgar.jpg

A once traffic-heavy part of Trafalgar Square, now open only to pedestrians, just received a green, grassy face lift from London’s city government. Could New York City’s Times Square be next? (If not, we’d settle for three months-worth of car-free Central Park this summer.) The BBC reports:

More than 2,000 sq m of turf has been laid as part of Visit London’s campaign to promote green spaces and villages in the city. The grass will cover the square for two days during which visitors will be able to soak up the sunshine in specially laid-out deckchairs or enjoy a picnic.

The turf, which has been sourced from the Vale of York, will then be moved to Bishops Park in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Chief executive of Visit London James Bidwell said: “From the rural feel of areas like Bexley Village and Wimbledon, to urban villages like Marylebone and even Canary Wharf, the campaign will help everyone discover Village London.”


As recently as 2004 Trafalgar Square was dominated by automobile traffic.
Photo of Jason Varone
Jason Varone battles the streets everyday during a 9 mile commute on his bicycle from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. In addition to his efforts on Streetsblog, he is an artist making work related to the environment and technology. Examples of his work can be found at www.varonearts.org.

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