The London Remedy for NYC’s Theater District
Channel: Streetfilms®
Date: 2018-11-28

Before 2009, going to the theater in Times Square was literally like going to hell. There was nowhere to sit. Nowhere to pause. Nowhere to meet friends.

Oh and that's because there were cars. Everywhere. Blocking crosswalks. Honking incessantly. It was uncomfortable, dangerous and chaotic.

Today, Times Square has been fully pedestrianized down Broadway. And it has become a great public space. But every other street leading to it and the adjacent neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen deals with the constant cacophany of noise and unending gridlock with crowds stuffed to the limit and falling off of inadequate sidewalks.

But of course all of this doesn't have to be. There should be a network of slow pedestrian-priority avenues or completely car-free streets surrounding the theater district and leading to Times Square. The solution is very simple: give more road space to the people using the streets the most (pedestrians) and stop allowing car-drivers to park and clog the roadways. It should be an easy decision by the city.

Sit back and listen to Mark Gorton deliver the skinny in 2 minutes and see footage from a place that has truly made their experience going to shows lovely: London.