I’d also like Coney Island Ave. in Brookyln.

Starting with vision42 – an auto-free light rail boulevard on 42nd Street – as a prototype, a whole grid of these streets would make sense in Manhattan, the nation’s most crowded urban place. While a number of options are worth considering, clearly the grid should include streets that have the greatest number of pedestrians. Light rail (in some cities they are called modern “streetcars”) would replace existing local and limited city bus routes on most of the avenues and many crosstown streets. Initially, the plan could make use of low floor articulated buses, gradually converting each route to light rail over a number of years. Temporary amenities could be replaced with permanent ones as the conversion to light rail progresses. Some 50 to 60 miles of Manhattan’s 600 miles of streets would be included. This plan would work best if combined with key strategies to reduce car use, like congestion pricing and car free Central Park Drives. Enough streets would remain open to traffic to accommodate goods movement and essential car traffic. In Lower Manhattan and in the Village additional auto-free streets, without light rail lines would make sense.

Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, Inc. http://www.irum.org

One minor question, though: Is anyone at Streetsblog in touch with the staff of the Brian Lehrer Show? It seems slightly redundant to collect suggestions both here and at wnyc.org; I hope that all the ideas will be consolidated and presented to DOT for future reference.

Believe it or not, I had an even wilder idea back when the Olympics were being discussed here. A car-free Manhattan south of 60th Street entire weekend, coinciding with a “World of New York” festival.

The idea being that NYC didn’t need an established event (like the Olympics) to make the city, it is a city that is capable of making an new event (like the NYC marathon). So the idea would be to combine a local sports festival with a local cultural festival (like Edinborough or Spoleto) on the streets of Manhattan South of 60th, and the East River Bridges. The whole metro area could be involved, not just NYC.

Private motor vehicles would be prohibited in the whole area from noon Friday, when the festival would begin, to midnight Sunday, when it would end. Everyone would have to take transit, walk or bike in, and deliveries would have to be made early.

It could start the first Friday in August, which could become a semi-holiday, as there are current holidays in the summer approximately one-month apart (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day) excluding that period. Set-up would be that morning. Those who wanted to participate could take that day off to do so. Residents of Prince Street could flee to Margaretville or Andes upstate on Thursday.

All the streets with extensive ground floor commercial would have events. On one street you’d have an ongoing festival featuring the fashion/crafts/music/art of a particular NYC ethnic/cultural group. On another you’d have a non-major sports competition, like badminton or ping pong or something. Plenty of street food, but restaurants could make money on drinks, bathrooms, and people looking to sit down.

(Not just the usual street fair stuff, I would hope).

There would be major stages in big locations such as Times Square and perhaps someplace Downtown, with music, comedy, etc.

Fireworks Friday and Saturday night with the East River Bridges closed for viewing.

And a huge parade going the length of Broadway. Got a group with costumes or a float or a band? You’re in. Start with American Indians who could come down from upstate. End with New York’s most recent arrivals. If there are too many who want to march for one parade, have two on two different streets.

I wonder what it would cost, and if sponsorship and the increased sales tax revenues from people coming in from outside would cover it. The big cost would be port-o-johns and clean up. But most of what would be going on is people just doing things themselves. It could start out small and get bigger.

Heck, maybe it could start out on Park Avenue on one of the Saturdays.

And, yes, I know the point is to get people out of their cars and off the roads.

2) Broadway, from Inwood to Battery Park. A fascinating and ever-changing street providing a cross-section of Manhattan’s neighborhoods!