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NYC to Kick Cars Off Broadway

Mayor unveils pedestrian-friendly midtown makeover

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 26, 2009 4:00 PM CST

(Newser) – New York is turning the Great White Way into the Great Walk Way, the New York Times reports. Mayor Bloomberg announced plans yesterday to turn five blocks of Broadway around Times Square into a pedestrian zone complete with tables and landscaping starting this May. City officials say the plan will ease the area's fearsome congestion but some worry the area's spirit will be lost.

"It’s the craziest place in the world. Why change it?” one tourist told the Times. Bloomberg, however, believes the area will benefit from the breathing space. "People don’t come to look at cars stuck in traffic,” he said. “They come to look at the lights, the buildings and the excitement, and this is going to have a lot more of it."

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

Cars and pedestrians pass along Broadway in Times Square February 26, 2009 in New York City. (Getty Images)

Traffic makes its way down Broadway in New York's Times Square, Wednesday, May 30, 2007. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Traffic fills Times Square, Friday, June 8, 2007 in New York. (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh)

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People avoid Times Square because the traffic is so terrible and people are getting pushed out into the streets. The sidewalks can't handle it. - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

They already messed up Broadway. Now they’re going to make it worse. It’s crazy. This is the place where we get passengers. - New York cabbie Garba Mahaman

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NYC to Kick Cars Off Broadway