Times Square Then and Now: A Streetfilms Retrospective

Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce his verdict on Times Square’s new pedestrian spaces very soon. Will the changes be permanent? This morning Bloomberg told radio host John Gambling that we’ll find out sometime next week. In the meantime, it seems like the media has decided to fixate on rumors that Midtown traffic speeds may not have increased across the board, without paying much attention to the tremendous difference this project has made for hundreds of thousands of pedestrians every day.

It’s been eight months since this part of Broadway went car-free, and maybe it’s hard to recall just how bad Times Square used to be for everyone walking around. To really appreciate what we have today, you’ve got to take a trip back in time to see the crowded, dangerous mess that used to fester at the crossroads of the world. Naturally, the moment calls for a Streetfilms retrospective.

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Make Queens Boulevard a Complete Street

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Last February, 22-year-old Asif Rahman was hit and killed by a truck while riding his bicycle on Queens Boulevard. Though the infamous "Boulevard of Death" is a lot safer than it used to be, it still produces far too many injuries and fatalities. Asif’s family, Council member Jim Gennaro, and Transportation Alternatives held a press […]
STREETFILMS

Peatónito in NYC: Protecting Pedestrians in the Crosswalk

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Peatónito (“little pedestrian”) might be the most beloved figure in the world of street safety. How can you not love a superhero who protects pedestrians from cars?! Since donning the cape and luchador mask three years ago, he’s become a media sensation in Mexico. This week he’s in New York City for Transportation Alternatives’ Vision Zero for Cities 2016 conference, […]

Streetfilms: Turning Streets Into Community Spaces

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Intersection RepairRunning time: 10:42 Have you ever dreamed of making the streets outside your home more livable, pedestrian-friendly, and community-oriented? City Repair in Portland, Oregon hosts an annual Village Building Convergence where hundreds of people come together to build diverse projects for the benefit of their communites and to take back their streets via a […]

Watch New Yorkers Using the 33rd Street Plaza With Streetfilms

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Catch it while you can. Before the temporary plaza on 33rd Street at Seventh Avenue closes on October 3, Clarence Eckerson Jr. of Streetfilms stopped by to grab video of New Yorkers enjoying some breathing room in one of Midtown’s most crowded corners. The plaza was installed in July, along with a temporary sidewalk extension on 32nd Street between […]

Streetfilms: Broadway & Houston

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Broadway & HoustonA Clarence Eckerson StreetfilmRunning time: 1:51, 7.20 MB, QuickTime Just a few blocks east of where cyclist Derek Lake was killed yesterday, community activist Charle-John Caffiero tells Streetfilms’ Mark Gorton how one of the busiest and most vital pedestrian crossings in New York City is currently being redesigned by DOT to become more […]