Central Park Traffic Lights Under Review
Good morning. It’s Tuesday. Today, we will explore new recommendations regarding the traffic management within Central Park, and we will also examine alarming statistics indicating that one in eight students in the city’s public school system experienced homelessness last year.
Credit: Benjamin Norman for The New York Times
Central Park is home to over 50 traffic lights, but the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit organization responsible for managing the park, believes it’s time for a significant change. In a report being released today, the conservancy asserts what many park visitors have long observed: “The vast majority of park users pay little attention” to these traffic signals.
This report is the culmination of a comprehensive yearlong study that examined how individuals navigate the park’s drives—the six miles of scenic roads that encircle this iconic green space. These drives are often a battleground for various users, including cyclists, pedestrians, runners, horse-drawn carriages, and pedicabs.
Elizabeth Smith, the president and chief executive of the conservancy, expressed her concerns about the current situation. “The chaos of the city is encroaching into the park by way of the drive, and the whole purpose of the park is not to be the city,” she remarked. The study particularly emphasized issues surrounding safety and accessibility, prompted by a survey revealing that pedestrians felt increasingly uneasy, noting that runners and cyclists appeared to be moving faster than before.
Smith highlighted the growing anxiety among parkgoers, stating that many felt unnerved by the speed of those sharing the space.
