The Covid-19 pandemic brought about a level of physical isolation that has no comparison in recent memory. New York City’s long, narrow streets, once bustling with pedestrians, drivers, cyclists, vendors, skaters and more, became empty over the course of a few weeks. At the height of the pandemic, even the MTA—the best public transit system in the country—could no longer be relied on for transporting people, as fear of being in enclosed spaces reached a peak. Finally, on April 27th, 2020, Mayor de Blasio reversed his previous opposition to the Open Streets program and committed to creating up to 100 miles of car-free street space for the people of New York City.
If anything, the pandemic certainly exposed the dire need for public spaces, a need that has been felt by everyone who’s had to self-quarantine or self-isolate. As of last month, the Open Streets program has officially become permanent: of the current 83 miles of Open Streets, many will remain in place even after day-to-day operations fully return to normal. In the upcoming New York Mayoral race, candidates came prepared with plans to build on the Open Streets program and increase New Yorkers’ access to the streets: some plan on expanding the program to more low-income neighborhoods, others spoke of building green design and community infrastructure, while all voiced support for a congestion pricing plan and for the construction of more bike lanes.
Thanks for sharing this. Some really interesting reading about the racial disparities that people have seen in the program on the links on that Transit Alternatives piece you shared. If you end up looking at specific neighborhoods as you discussed on our call it might also be interesting context to learn about the history of things like parks and playgrounds and any fights that have taken place over those in the specific neighborhood. My assumption is that the “open streets” debate is somewhat recent, but of course the fight for green space and parks etc. has a long history that might give some interesting context.