Stopping Traffic in Billy-Burg
by Kate Trainor on January 2, 2008
Just when I was sure that Williamsburg, Brooklyn couldn’t possibly get more painfully hip (the ratio of regular folk to hipsters—clad in converse and skinny jeans—is about one-to-one hundred) I was proven wrong. But, this time, “Billy-burg’s” progressive coolness is eco-conscious and pedestrian-friendly. I can’t help but like it.
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Carfree Bedford” is a movement to make four blocks of Bedford Ave, one of Brooklyn’s busiest avenues, a purely pedestrian mall. (Other areas in Brooklyn, like the Fulton Street Mall in downtown, are already closed to cars. Curiously, Bedford Ave. is the longest street in all of New York City.) The movement is the brainchild of Emil Choski, a college student who proposed the project in 2005. Since then, Carfree Bedford has gained popularity among Brooklyn’s mostly pedestrian, car-free population. Only one in five New Yorkers owns a car (and, most of them, I’d guess, live on Staten and/or Long Island).
Choski and supporters say that banning car traffic from Bedford Ave. will improve local business, but naysayers, like the grumpy fogey in the video below, gripe that they “won’t walk two blocks” to get their knish. (My take? You can’t walk two blocks and you call yourself a New Yorker? Fugheddabouddit!)
From Cafree Bedford:
Carfree Bedford is a group of volunteers who believe that it is time for a new paradigm of transportation in New York, one that does not glorify congestion but instead allows for modal diversity. … We believe that congestion can be resolved by allowing for a greater diversity of means of transportation. We support the creation of bike lanes, more bike parking, and more pedestrian promenades for the majority of New Yorkers who don’t own a car.
You can get a glimpse of what a Carfree Bedford Ave. might look like (and imagine hipsters strolling the green) on Carfree Bedford’s web site. You can also sign their
petition to show your support.
Related posts:
- Kris Murrin Stops Traffic in the U.K.
- Traffic Costs Billions in Maryland
- Lose the Traffic Lights to Improve Our Streets?
- L.A. Mayor’s Traffic Reduction Plan
- World Car Free Day Synopsis
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Go Minneapolis!
In the Netherlands we have a very extensive cycle infrastructure. Hundreds of separate or semi separate bicycle lanes in every city as well as in between city’s. Ofcourse also in Holland there’s loads to improve, but I guess – judged by the extensiveness of its bycle lanes – it must be the cycling walhalla of the world! On the other hand, there are so many cyclists wanting to park at railway stations that facilities can’t handle the amount (many thousands) of bikes being parked there. And on weekend days there are cyclist traffic jams on some spots.
Great the US wants to improve cycling facilities! Hopefully we could learn from your improvements.