Don’t Forget That “Summer Streets” Starts Saturday

Welcome to the first of three “Summer Streets” days — when New Yorkers get their annual reminder of how great Manhattan could be if there were no cars.

Of course, the Department of Transportation’s 11th annual car-free event only covers a narrow corridor — seven miles from Central Park, down Park Avenue to Lafayette Avenue to Centre Street to the Brooklyn Bridge — and it’s only for the first three Saturdays of August, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The detailed Summer Streets map (see image below) highlights five “rest stops” along the way, where DOT offers cultural, fitness, musical, culinary and sports programming, including a zip line in Foley Square and a rock climbing wall near Astor Place, where DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg will kick off the festivities with a press conference and photo op at 8:30 a.m. (Full list is here.)

There’s no question people enjoy Summer Streets, but Streetsblog has long argued that its vision of a car-free Manhattan needs to be greatly expanded — and probably could be if it wasn’t so expensive due to heavy police presence.

And if the full Summer Streets isn’t your bag, there are smaller car-free events as part of DOT’s “Weekend Walks” series this Saturday, including those on Glenwood Road between Nostrand and Flatbush (featuring the Roots); E. 186th St. between Arthur and Hughes, and on Hughes Avenue between Crescent and E. 187th; and the Coney Island Music Festival on
Stillwell Avenue between Surf and Bowery, and on Bowery from W. 12th to W. 15th.