Let's completely remove the privilege of driving - or the privilege of being stuck in traffic - from the motor vehicles that use Broadway.

Instead, we can dedicate all that newly-freed space to the pedestrians, save for a slim, 6' bike lane (or maybe 10' - 5' in each direction). And I'd further vote to help out those pedestrians that are trying to get somewhere by adding a trolley line, say, from Columbus Circle to Union Sq.

Great thinking, AP.

At least Pat Kiernan pointed out to the reporter afterwards that most of the car traffic seems to head down 7th rather than Broadway.

I've always believed there should be some sort of planning metric that automatically converts traffic lanes into sidewalks once X number of feet start walking among the cars. This is exactly what the DOT is doing. Horay!

The Times, on the other hand, can not write about our streets without trotting out its lovable and tenacious NYC driver archetype who just can't believe what crazy things the city will do next to make their motorized lives harder. Never mind that frequent self-drivers are an increasingly marginal portion of the city's population, this tried and true skeptical counterbalance to every city-streets story is too good to pass up!

As far as I'm concerned, just close that intersection to motor vehicles all together, with the exception of commercial traffic. It barely functions now as it is. Anybody who purposely drives through there deserves the misery they get. Unfortunately they spread that misery to pedestrians and bicyclists.

The 2 motorists cited their own driving experience and acted like they were experts on the subject. Somehow, their limited experiences gave them more knowledge than all of the transportation professionals in the entire Department of Transportation.

Umm...Just because you own and drive a car does not make you a traffic engineer.

In contrast, Hazel Styles, 28, a manager at Image, a clothing store, feared that higher rates would drive customers away.

"With the price of gas, nobody wants to drive," Ms. Styles said. "Bloomberg's going to reduce traffic, but the majority of our customers come from out of the area."

Ms. Styles seems unaware that the majority of her customers arrive by public transit or walk to the store from their midtown office jobs. The Times does nothing to correct her, even though the stats -- thoroughly aired during the congestion-pricing controversy -- must still be fresh in reporters' minds. How odd that the paper's Manhattan reporters should employ such a shopping-mall mentality in their own backyard. Note the obligatory shot at Bloomberg, the liveable-streets mayor.

The Gothamist took the opportunity to run this quote from the Times story in bold:

“I think we’ve got enough places for cars and not enough places for people to sit.”

http://gothamist.com/2008/07/11/seven_blocks_of_broadway_to_narrow.php

Some workers in the area wondered whether people would flock to dine and relax so close to a busy route’s speeding taxis, noisy trucks and exhaust fumes.

Personally, I have the same thoughts. I can't stand hanging out on a park bench or eating at an outdoor table on a busy, traffic-filled NYC street. I think it's brutal. But Willie Neumman, how about a little reporting instead of just speculating?

I happened to be at 9th Avenue and 14th Street last night around 8pm and, lo and behold, Meatpacking Plaza, the newly reclaimed pedestrian spaces at Gansevoort, and the sidewalks outside the restaurants on 9th Ave were jam-packed with people enjoying the outdoor space. You couldn't find a seat if you wanted one.

Meanwhile, the intersection itself was absolutely crammed with honking, spewing, hyper-aggressive motor vehicle traffic. A deeply sociopathic fellow in a Nissan Morono, NJ plates, natch, was trying to make a right turn from Ninth to 14th. He wasn't happy about having to wait for the throng of pedestrians crossing 14th. So he was just sitting there in the climate controlled comfort of his new car leaning on his horn, absolutely demolishing the public realm within a 50 foot radius of his big, expensive vehicle. A conservative and respectable looking older woman jumped off the sidewalk and screamed into his windshield. Cocooned in his air conditioned bubble, he didn't seem to notice or care.

Moral of story: The demand for outdoor public space is so great in NYC, people seem to be entirely willing to subject themselves to the "noisy trucks and exhaust fumes."

It strikes me as odd, after all when we have the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Gay Pride Parade, NYC Marathon, NY Giants parade down the Canyon of Heroes, etc. etc. - those are all major street closures and yet there is usually no mention by the media or coverage of how those things are effecting drivers.

The media thrives on controversy of course and is always looking for the cheap angle to make people tune in. Sadly that is our world. But let's hope we can remind the media to not ignore the incredible positive benefits the Summer Streets are bringing to the lives of people.