This Week: Big Votes on a Car-Free Central Park Trial

A proposal to see what happens when you keep cars off the Central Park loop drive has been picking up community board votes left and right in the past few weeks. There’s more CB action about the car-free park trial on the calendar this week — Thursday’s Community Board 9 vote is going to be especially critical:

• Tuesday: Council Member Dan Garodnick’s office will tell Manhattan CB 2 about his bill to control parking placard abuse using bar codes and scanners. 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday: The transportation committee of Manhattan CB 4 takes up the question of whether to test out a car-free Central Park. 6:30 p.m.
• Also Wednesday: Members of the Local Spokes coalition will debrief the Manhattan CB 3 transportation and public safety committee on their campaign for safer cycling on the Lower East Side and Chinatown. 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Manhattan CB 9 will consider the car-free Central Park trial. The proposal did not receive an endorsement from the board’s transportation committee, but that vote was a slim 2-1 against, with two abstentions. 6:30 p.m.
• Also Thursday: NYC DOT presents the “preliminary design investigation” for raised pedestrian refuges along the Prospect Park West bike lane to Brooklyn CB 6. The board approved the concrete islands in a unanimous vote earlier this year. 6:30 p.m.