Central Park

Last year, the city announced that much of Central Park's loop drives would go car-free all summer long. With temperatures warming, the park is again filling with people walking, jogging, and biking -- all sharing space with car commuters looking for a rush-hour shortcut. Will it happen again -- or expand -- this year? Negotiations are underway to bring a car-free summer back to Central Park, and meanwhile it's still an open question whether Prospect Park users will get similar summer traffic relief for the first time.

Last month, Streetsblog reported that the Central Park loop would be getting a new lane configuration to clarify where pedestrians and cyclists belong, similar to changes recently implemented in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Less than 30 days after the announcement, walkers, joggers, and bike riders are all getting some extra room in the park, while the space for cars has been narrowed to one lane, calming vehicular traffic. Reader Rod Huntress sent in these photos from a ride this morning.

This evening, DOT, the Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy announced a change to road configurations in Central Park similar to recent changes in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The plan [PDF] would double available pedestrian space and bring the installation of plastic posts to separate cyclists from walkers and joggers.

The two-way, buffered bike lane across Central Park on 72nd Street is rounding into form, with most but not all of the markings in place, readers tell us. The path is rideable in both directions, adding a critical piece of east-west connectivity to the bike network.

Heads up if your p.m. bike commute takes you through Central Park, or if you're planning on an after-work ride. This just in from reliable source (and Streetfilms star) Marcus Woollen:

In the midst of a 2004 petition drive and campaign, Transportation Alternatives hired me to produce a mini-film called "The Case for a Car-Free Central Park." It featured interviews with many prominent New Yorkers, like Columbia professor Ken Jackson and author Roberta Brandes Gratz, along with dozens of everyday park-goers testifying about how they felt about cars in the park.

A plan to transfer one lane of 72nd Street from motor vehicles to bicycles in Central Park earned a thumbs up from three committees of Manhattan Community Board 8 last night, a strong show of approval from a board with a mixed record on bike infrastructure. The total vote was 13-1, with one abstention, according to transportation committee co-chair A. Scott Falk.

This summer, cyclists will have a second path to safely cross Central Park.

Central Park advocate Ken Coughlin tells us he's spotted a traffic counting strip on the park loop, near Tavern on the Green.