Car-Free Streets

Here we are, halfway through July, which means Summer Streets are coming around again. NYCDOT announced today that the city's flagship car-free event will be happening on three Saturdays in August -- the 7th, 14th, and 21st.

On Sunday, June 27, Downtown Oakland opened two miles of its streets for traffic-free fun and activities -- zumba dancing, circus arts, BMX bike competitions and performances from local musicians. Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) partnered with the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Oaklandish, Oakland YMCA, Cycles of Change, and other civic organizations to create the East Bay's first car-free event in the Ciclovía mold. Preparations are in the works for another Oaklavia in the coming months.

Every summer, New Yorkers face a dire shortage of tube socks. Or so you'd assume if you walked through the city's 300-odd street fairs. Though some fairs are cherished local institutions, the majority are corporate cookie-cutter affairs. That's a real wasted opportunity in a city so starved for public space. 

The 2010 schedule for NYCDOT's Weekend Walks is up, and there are 18 car-free streets to check out this summer. While some merchants managed to shrink one of the original neighborhood car-free events -- Williamsburg Walks -- down to one weekend, elsewhere local business groups are taking the lead to create temporary spaces for people to enjoy their neighborhoods free from traffic. Overall it's a big expansion compared to last year's 13 sites.

Nearly 200 Jackson Heights residents marched on their community board last Thursday night to support the expansion of car-free public space in their neighborhood. That feat of organizing helped win the approval of Queens Community Board 3 for a summer-long 78th Street Play Street, reversing the stance of the board's transportation committee.

Looks like we're headed for a sunny weekend as NYC's slate of summer car-free street events gets going. NYCDOT hasn't updated their "Weekend Walks" site yet to show when and where all the neighborhood-scale street parties will be happening. But one of the first of 2010 is coming to Amsterdam Avenue from 106th Street to 110th Street this Sunday. Head over between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. for "Manhattan Valley Family Days" -- mural drawing, bike lessons for kids, live music, and lots of other stuff is on tap.

Safer street conditions and more space for pedestrians and cyclists could soon be coming to Union Square under a plan to be unveiled by DOT today.

DOT yesterday announced a competition for temporary designs to "refresh" Times Square while the agency develops plans for permanent pedestrian plazas.

When DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan hinted last Tuesday that bolder ideas were on the way for bus rapid transit in New York City, she apparently meant "next week." The DOT website now displays an updated plan for the next phase of bus improvements on 34th Street, which would convert the current bus lanes into a full-fledged transitway.