Central Park Becomes A Car-Free Zone

Mayor Bill de Blasio kicks out all the cars, making Central Park a car-free zone.

You've heard of no flex zone, but how about a car-free zone? New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is sweeping the streets of the city's fabled Central Park, making room for pedestrians and cyclists only.

Beginning June 27, the park will no longer allow vehicles to drive south of 72nd Street, opening up the streets for more cyclists, more kids on tricycles, and endless amounts of walkers and roller-bladers.

Check out the video below:

Car Free's The Way to Be

According to New York's CBS affiliate, the mayor's decision to create this car-free zone in one of the busiest parts of one of the busiest cities in the world was focused on decreasing air pollution while keeping pedestrians safe. The city has already attempted this kind of car-free zone experiment, pushing cars out of Prospect Park in Brooklyn a few months back.

In that project, the city's D.O.T. found the pilot project conducted a year before brought no additional traffic woes. More than 1,000 pedestrians, runners and cyclists used the paths around Prospect Park in the morning compared to about 300 drivers who used it.

Cars Land

How are New Yorkers taking this? Some are all in, even though this could create even more of a traffic nightmare in a city known for its next-level gridlock. The Department of Transportation says it will closely monitor how this car-free zone will affect traffic and safety around the area and make changes if need be.

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