And riding and cobblestone is surely less comfortable than riding on asphalt.

I know this image is just an idea, and not exactly a "final product," but with a little feature rearrangement, the design can satisfy many of us.

First, get the bicyclists and pedestrians off the same path.

The only reason drivers would have to come into the office would be to fill out paperwork and pick up their checks. To do that, they can park around the corner and walk (gasp!) a few hundred feet to the office. If they have direct deposit, they would hardly need to go to the office at all.

Aber- speaking for myself, I moved to NYC because I was looking for a dynamic streetlife for pedestrians. As it happens, cars can be hostile to this environment- that's why I don't live in Florida, for instance.

Thank god I left NYC to Florida. All these hippies moving to NY to demand more greenspace. Why the hell did you guys moved to NY in the first place? If I want a car I should be able to drive a car because I pay taxes and permits and licenses for the car. It is not like the L train a joy to ride during rush hour.

I love it in Florida, I hope the hippies do not come down here and ruin it all.

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/02/16/how_about_some_carfree_bedford_avenue.php

The quote above says "Emergency vehicles will continue to have access to Bedford Avenue". I don't see why garbage trucks can't as well; they do on Nassau Street. As for car services, they can just go down one of the cross streets and stop on the corner.

As for the question "what is the dominant mode of transportation?" there's no disputing that motorists are allowed to dominate everything around them. In terms of percentage of population, I'm sure someone can find the census data, but North Williamsburg seems to be the kind of neighborhood where car commuters (if not car owners) are in the minority.

Furthermore, as much as I would like to see this happen tomorrow, baby steps are needed in order to fully get to the car-free zone on Bedford Ave passed. The use of more stop signs and speed bumps would greatly slow down and reduce traffic, while easing drivers and pedestrians into a car-free Bedford.

I do have one concern though. If there are no cars allowed on Bedford Ave, hundreds of parking spaces will be lost--will there be an alternative space for this? It is already difficult to park, and with all the new condos being built, it will be even worse.

as for maintenance, the city has arrangements for greenstreets plantings where a local organization agrees to maintain the plantings. there are plenty of organizations in the area who could handle it, but it in no way needs to be a BID to be successful.

of course the change could only happen with property owner's consent, but I don't want rent-a-cops patrolling bedford ave, nor do I want property owners to be the only ones who get a say in how the area runs (it's sadly how most BIDs here work). it's a sure way to make it the next times square.

Instead, use trees. After they are established, they are likely to survive for a long time with little or no maintenance.

Your Copenhagen analogy makes a compelling arguement for a Car Free Bedford; if done correctly this can become a demonstration for measures throughout the city. And Williamsburg is as good of a place to start as anywhere (though Chinatown is inviting). Hopefully, every neighborhood in the city would then be saying 'I want one of those!'

When it comes to the details I still lean towards a Car Reduced Bedford but maybe something more ambitious than just traffic calming.

"There were plenty of other forces at play, but many regional/small towns tried pedestrian malls in the 70s and 80s. Most failed."
There was a simple explanation for this: they tried to attract pedestrians to an area that had become auto-oriented not just from the cars on the street but from the local density as well. The "if you build it they will come" doesn't really work with pedestrian malls. It's more of a "if they're already there, more will come" effect, where pedestrian activity is self-reinforcing and attracted by already existing pedestrian activity. So the place to introduce pedestrian malls is... where there already are pedestrians. That is how Copenhagen did it, slowly and incrementally, and it worked.