Feeling remarkably similar to Bogota's Ciclovia, the New York City Department of Transportation held its first Summer Streets event on Saturday by opening 7 miles of city streets to pedestrians and bike traffic only. From 7 AM to 1 PM, roads were car-free from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge with Park Avenue serving as the backbone of the route. Our Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan is the real deal - she spent the entire day riding a bike around the course (and even said some nice things about me to my mom.)
We'll spare you the 200 adjectives we could list about how transformational it was, for it was beyond anything on the printed page. The general consensus was that the event succeeded beyond even the most hoped for expectations and would pass even the most pessimistic of measuring sticks. A page has been turned, clearly there is no doubt: the future will hold many more large scale street openings for pedestrians, cyclists, runners, children, dog walkers, dancers, and any other reasonable livable space use.
The swarms of people and happy faces made for much positive energy. Around noon, some blocks were getting very crowded, but there was a general courtesy that existed between pedestrians and cyclists. The city built it - and the people came. And they smiled a lot.
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">[intro music]</font> <br>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [00:06]
We’re sitting here in the sun enjoying the day, and it’s just great.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [00:16]
This is utopia New York.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [00:20]
Everyday should be Summer Streets day, yay.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [00:24]
There we go.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Janette Sadik-Khan:</i>
[00:27] All these people are going to enjoy car-free streets from 7am
till 1pm, seven miles, all the way up some of the most iconic streets
of New York, Park Avenue. We encourage everybody to get out and
play and take a dance class, an aerobicise or cha-cha, do anything you
want. And it’s not just about being in motion, it’s also about
if you want to go out and have a cup of coffee and enjoy those streets
and people watch. I mean there are wonderful ways to get out and
enjoy the streets of New York and so this is going to be a great Saturday.
It’s great for fitness, it’s great for fun, it’s just… it’s
just a great way to see the city. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:02]
So now what do you guys have to do today? </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:05]
We have to guard the street.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:06]
And protect. Serve and protect. We’re Marshals.
We are Marshals. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:11]
Are you a little scared having the bare feet today?</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:13]
Yeah, I was a little scared first mile, but since it’s been okay.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:15]
Yeah?</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:16]
Yeah. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:17]
It’s a whole different perspective. I mean, you know, you zip
by in a cab usually or you get to see things you would never otherwise
see, you know, the statue of Cornelius Van Der Bilt, who knew? </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:27]
The best part is watching people look up and enjoy buildings from the
safety of the street instead of avoiding looking up because they’re
trying to avoid collision with motorists.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [01:36]
For eight years we’ve been anxious to go, come out of the house and
sit on the grass. You can sit here and have lunch. It’s
a wonderful place to be. But it’s terrible during the day with
the cars going along and the fumes and the noise and the horns and everything.
But today, it’s incredible. I’m sitting here, you want to
see the painting I did? </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">[music]</font> <br></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Gil Penalosa:</i>
[02:01] The general interest as we can see is that people want to take
over the streets and people want to have fun and people want to meet
out as equals and this develops a sense of belonging and this is really
what makes New York the greatest city in the world. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Aaron Naparstek:</i>
[02:15] It actually reminds me a lot of Bogota, like all the dance classes
in the middle of the street. I don’t know how everyone found
out about it because the crowds are huge.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">[music]</font> <br></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [02:32]
This is a unique experience. First time in New York City I’m
experiencing this. I’m going all the way Downtown and coming
back all the way Uptown.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">[music]</font> <br></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [02:44]
Oh this is great fun, they should close the streets more often.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [02:47]
Summer Streets, we love them. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">[music]</font> <br></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Noah Budnick:</i>
[03:01] It really shows that traffic is not like the weather, it’s
not just something that is there and you can’t do anything about,
and that when you get the cars out of the way, it really shows people
what more can be done with the streets in the city and how they can
be put to much higher uses.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Mark Gorton:</i> [03:15]
I’m sitting in the middle of Park Avenue and it is quiet and peaceful
and wonderful. I got my kids right here and I’m not worried
that they’re going to get run over by a car. I’m not paranoid
that I have to keep an eye on them every second or their lives are in
danger. You close the streets to traffic and the whole world opens
up. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Mary Wittenberg:</i>
[03:34] We are so lucky to live in a city where Mayor Bloomberg and
his team want to show the world that New York City is the sports capital
of the world and a model city for healthy living. Who likes that?</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>All:</i> [03:47] Me. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [03:50]
It was fantastic, I thought that it was great. I did see a lot
of children really having fun.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [03:54]
It’s ridiculously fun, they should have done this a long time ago. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [03:57]
I love the fact that there was no noise in the street.</font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [04:01]
They should do it every Saturday and then add more days each year. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Gil Penalosa:</i>
[04:06] And I think we have to applaud the Mayor and the Commissioner
for having had the guts. Sometimes it’s so much easier to do
nothing, and then when you do nothing, no-one complains. But they
are doing things and making our city more on the human scale and I think
that’s what’s exciting. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Janette Sadik-Khan:</i>
[04:20]’We’ve got two more Saturdays to go after this and it’s
my hope that this becomes an iconic event for New York City for the
next hundred years. </font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">[music]</font> <br></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><i>Speaker:</i> [04:35]
Yeah a blast, a blast man. It’s a gas. </font> <br>
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