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It's the oldest part of New York, and many of the streets in the financial district are as small as they can get. Parts of FiDi are reminiscent of old European

It's the oldest part of New York, and many of the streets in the financial district are as small as they can get. Parts of FiDi are reminiscent of old European cities. You can not narrow the remaining streets without introducing significant congestion; one does not simply shrink Broadway. Downtown is also a major turnaround point for traffic, and significant commuter hub. It's too simplistic to suggest narrowing the streets without considering the impact it has on the rest of the city. That southbound traffic has to go somewhere, and your solution would probably just bump the traffic problem elsewhere. As mentioned, there are separate bike lanes, but also quite a few suicidal pedestrians. I used to commute by bike from Wall Street, and the danger was always a pedestrian on their phone. In other words, this is a complicated problem where all solutions can have negative consequences.

TulliusCicero 10y ago
> You can not narrow the remaining streets without introducing significant congestion; one does not simply shrink Broadway. You're stuck in the traditional American mindset of only thinking about cars. Yes, congestion for cars might go up. But you're not taking the space and throwing it into the ocean; it's going to other, more space efficient modes. Total congestion, then, goes down. In Manhattan of all places, worrying about car commuters seems hilariously misplaced. This area has the best transit in the entire country. People will adapt.
- baybal2 10y ago
  >Yes, congestion for cars might go up. If you do not use cars, car congestion goes down
- vidarh 10y ago
  Congestion for cars in most dense cities tends to stay pretty much constant: Add lanes, and car use goes up until congestion is pretty much back to "normal". Close lanes and more people pick alternate modes of traffick until congestion is back to normal. Which is one more reason to not pay attention to car congestion when deciding what to close, and instead make such decision based on how congested the sidewalks and public transport is.

TulliusCicero 10y ago

> You can not narrow the remaining streets without introducing significant congestion; one does not simply shrink Broadway. You're stuck in the traditional American mindset of only thinking about cars. Yes, congestion for cars might go up. But you're not taking the space and throwing it into the ocean; it's going to other, more space efficient modes. Total congestion, then, goes down. In Manhattan of all places, worrying about car commuters seems hilariously misplaced. This area has the best transit in the entire country. People will adapt.

baybal2 10y ago
>Yes, congestion for cars might go up. If you do not use cars, car congestion goes down
vidarh 10y ago
Congestion for cars in most dense cities tends to stay pretty much constant: Add lanes, and car use goes up until congestion is pretty much back to "normal". Close lanes and more people pick alternate modes of traffick until congestion is back to normal. Which is one more reason to not pay attention to car congestion when deciding what to close, and instead make such decision based on how congested the sidewalks and public transport is.