Wiki Wednesday: The Transformation of Trafalgar Square

There’s no place quite like Times Square, and no exact precedent for the reclamation of street space along Broadway that Mayor Bloomberg and NYCDOT unveiled last week. But London’s pedestrian improvements to Trafalgar Square certainly invite comparison. DianaD describes those changes in this week’s StreetsWiki entry:

Because it formed the intersection of some of London’s busiest roads
(junction of Whitehall, The Mall, The Strand and Charing Cross roads),
Trafalgar Square had become an "undignified traffic roundabout."
Visitors had to cross several lanes of traffic, which carried 1500 cars
per hour, to reach the central monuments.

The redesign, completed in 2003, transformed the space in front of the National Gallery from this:

trafalgar2.jpg

To this:

Trafalgar.jpg

Check out Diana’s entry for more of the story.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

London’s Trafalgar Square Goes Green… Literally.

By Jason Varone |
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 […]

Pedestrian Safety: London Shows How NYC Can Do Better

By John Kaehny |
Saturday afternoon traffic congestion on a London street near Covent Garden with dimensions and land use almost identical to Prince Street in Manhattan. In the days before Wednesday’s hearing on pedestrian safety, the City Council should consider how badly New York City pedestrians fare compare to those in London. While pedestrian safety has been improving […]

London Calling. Are New York’s Leaders Really Listening?

By Aaron Naparstek |
London officials closed the northern side of Trafalgar Square to traffic creating a vibrant new public space. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Chuck Schumer argue that New York City risks losing its place of global pre-eminence in a Wall Street Journal editorial yesterday. The editorial is a response to growing conventional wisdom that says London […]

Bratton Won’t Stop Talking About Removing Times Square Plazas

By Stephen Miller |
It wasn’t just an offhand remark. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has reiterated his desire to eliminate the public plazas at Times Square and go back to the days when people were spilling off the sidewalk into the path of traffic. This time, he’s insisting that taking away space for people won’t just cure Times Square of topless women and costumed […]