Car-Free Streets

Summer Streets Is Over. Long Live Summer Streets!

Powered by thousands of New Yorkers hungry for car-free public space and aided by three consecutive weeks of picture perfect weather, there can be little doubt that the Summer Streets experiment was by most measures a rousing success. Still, the New York Times reports that the city will "study the effect on businesses closely" before deciding how, or if, it will continue with the program, and the question of how best to accommodate all human-powered modes remains an open one.

By Brad Aaron

10:49 AM EDT on August 25, 2008

Powered by thousands of New Yorkers hungry for car-free public space and aided by three consecutive weeks of picture perfect weather, there can be little doubt that the Summer Streets experiment was by most measures a rousing success. Still, the New York Times reports that the city will “study the effect on businesses closely” before deciding how, or if, it will continue with the program, and the question of how best to accommodate all human-powered modes remains an open one.

With that in mind, consider this an open thread — a Summer Streets epilogue. What was your favorite aspect of the inaugural season? Least favorite? Should the program be expanded with new routes, days, or hours? Should there be separate Summer Streets for fitness-minded cyclists, inline skaters and runners? Assuming it carries on with the program, what can the Bloomberg administration do to ensure its survival under the next mayor?

In short, what is the ideal future Summer Street?

Photo: acsweet/Flickr

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.

Car-Free Streets

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