Car-Free America

Car-free zones and times are on the rise in the US (though mostly centered around existing public spaces like parks) according to a recent Christian Science Monitor article:

’ΔΆ New York is proposing to shut down perimeter roads of Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park all summer long.

’ΔΆ Atlanta plans to transform 53 acres of blighted, unused land into new bike-friendly green space.

’ΔΆ Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and El Paso, Texas, are planning events to promote car-free days in public parks, most in the hope that the idea will become permanent or extend for months.

"Cities across America are increasingly declaring that parks are for people, not cars, ... and closing roads within parks is one result of that," says Ben Welle with The Trust for Public Land's Center for City Park Excellence, in Washington.

Resistance can be fierce at first, he and others say, because of worries about traffic congestion, parking problems, and loss of visitors for businesses and museums. But studies are showing that traffic problems can be minimized, shops and museums get more visitors, and residents begin to cherish their where-the-action-is location.

Read the entire article here.