Park vs. Parkway

Last Sunday, newbie transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told a couple thousand cyclists that the [city is considering banning cars from Central Park] for the entire summer. In June 2006, Bloomberg launched a [six-month pilot program](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/nyregion/09parks.html?ex=1304827200&en=ec7c969a64945287&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) that entailed similar measures, and also included Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Sadik-Khan’s predecessor, Iris Weinshall, had been against such plans, arguing that closing the park to motorists would worsen congestion and pollution throughout Manhattan. Ya think? [Transportation Alternatives](http://www.transalt.org/campaigns/cpark/index.html), the group pushing for a car-free Central Park, specifies that the campaign is limited to Central Park's loop road, not the four east-west transverses, which, they note, were intended to carry through-traffic as part of the park's original design. From their website: “Opening the loop road to drivers is only encouraging car travel to and from Midtown and worsening congestion in our city. According to the Regional Plan Association, closing the loop would induce 20 percent to 60 percent of the drivers who now use it to ‘disappear’ from the street grid...” Cool!