Summer Streets

Here’s something cool to check out in NYC this summer. The city is experimenting with Summer Streets this year which will create roughly 7 miles of car-free streets on three Saturdays in August from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to the Upper East Side along Park Ave. Cars, trucks and buses will be barred from the streets along the route from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 9, 16 and 23.

From a New York Times article describing the idea:

Mr. Bloomberg and the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, said the idea was to make the streets a haven for walkers, cyclists and others. Fitness, dance and yoga classes will be held along the route, and there will also be places to rent bicycles. The plan was reported in The New York Sun on Monday.

“Everyone around the world knows about Park Avenue as one of New York City’s most storied thoroughfares, and to turn that over to pedestrians and cyclists, even though it’s just for three consecutive Saturdays, I think that sends a very powerful message that the tide is turning so that bicyclists and pedestrians are on at least an equal footing with drivers.”

I plan to bring my bike down to check it out. Bikes are allowed on the trains off-peak, so the Metro North can’t harass you about it. Could this work anywhere on a smaller scale in Stamford? To some extent we already do for events like Live @ Five, Arts & Blues, and the Farmers Market. Why not try the same idea on lower Bedford on Sundays?