Car-Free Streets

Summer Streets 2016 Gets Started Tomorrow

If you're old enough to remember when Summer Streets -- which begins tomorrow -- was a wild new idea, it probably won't surprise you that this isn't the first year we've pointed out that Summer Streets has become a completely normal thing.

By Brad Aaron

4:59 PM EDT on August 5, 2016

Click for interactive Summer Streets 2016 map. Image: NYC DOT

If you’re old enough to remember when Summer Streets — which begins tomorrow — was a wild new idea, it probably won’t surprise you that this isn’t the first year we’ve pointed out that Summer Streets has become a completely normal thing.

For some time now, New Yorkers have wondered when DOT would improve on the city’s premier car-free event, and next Saturday “Shared Streets” will limit motor vehicle traffic in a 60-block area of the Financial District. This is a big deal, and it could serve as an informal pilot for future street space reclamations.

From a DOT Shared Streets email blast that went out this week:

Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians will be encouraged to share the streets of lower Manhattan and take the time to rediscover the commerce, culture, and history in this special district. DOT will distribute a custom WalkNYC map highlighting points of interest in the district along with the schedule of walking tours and cultural programming in plazas, parks, and open spaces.

That’s next week. Tomorrow, Summer Streets 2016 is the same as it ever was, which is still pretty great: Seven miles of Lafayette Street and Park Avenue, between the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park, will be car-free from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Have fun out there.

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