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 NewsroomThe best way to keep tabs on what's happening with the Car-Free Central Park Campaign is to join the Campaign's e-mail announcement list.
October 25th, 2007 The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that car-free time in Central Park will be increased by one hour in the morning on the park's West Drive, starting Monday, August 6. In making the announcement, new DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said: "Central Park is busy in the mornings with walkers, joggers and cyclists. I am pleased we will be able to provide additional time for everyone to utilize the park free from vehicles." Although this was less of an incremental improvement than we had hoped for from the new administration at DOT, with this additional hour the West Drive is open to traffic for only two hours a day, from 8-10 am, and we're one step closer to a completely car-free park. There is a great deal of fear surrounding the closing of any road to motorists, even if that road is in the world's most famous urban green space. The only way to dispel those fears once and for all will be a full-fledged trial closure of the park to cars, which is the next logical step.
Ken Coughlin, Chair March 26, 2007 Welcome to the 2007 Car-Free Central Park Campaign! It's been a while since we were last in touch, but we have not been idle. The trial closing of portions of the loop road that the city instituted in June has not resulted in the feared traffic gridlock and so it has been extended indefinitely. Now we are gearing up for the reintroduction of the same City Council bill that was introduced last spring, creating a Car-Free Summer 2007 in the park. This time around we hope to have the support not only of a veto-proof majority of the City Council, which we were close to having last year, but the support of Council Speaker Christine Quinn as well. To help us in our effort to win the backing of Speaker Quinn and key Council members, we need more facts about the drivers who are entering the park from Harlem – specifically, where they are coming from. This information will help us demonstrate that much of the traffic is originating far north of the park and that the park is in fact exacerbating traffic problems in central Harlem by serving as a magnet for cars. On selected mornings over the next several weeks, Transportation Alternatives will be administering a quick, two-question survey to drivers waiting at lights on the park's West drive. In order for the data to be valid, we're told that we need to survey at least 200 drivers. If you can help with this effort, please reply to this e-mail, telling us which weekday mornings from Tuesday, March 27, to Friday, April 6, you are available and generally what time between 7:30 and 8:30 am you could arrive and how long you could stay. (TA will supply day-glo vests and clipboards for all surveyors.) Thanks. March 27, 2006 A big, heartfelt 'thank you' to all who attended yesterday's City Hall rally. You played a key role in making it the success that it was. The crowd, which the Times estimated at 150, stood on the City Hall steps holding more than two-dozen 20-foot banners displaying some of the thousands of Car-Free Central Park petition sheets. This provided a compelling visual backdrop for the speakers, who were introduced by Transportation Alternatives' Executive Director Paul Steely White: Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, City Council Member and Chair of the Council's Transportation Committee John Liu (who arrived on rollerblades), and City Council Member Gale Brewer. All spoke in favor of a Car-Free Summer in the park, and Brewer announced that she is introducing a resolution in the Council calling for a Car-Free Summer (this was the surprise we couldn't reveal beforehand). WNYC radio announced the rally during the local news in the morning and the rally itself was covered by Channels 5 and 7, the Times (Metro Briefs today), the Daily News, The New York Post, the New York Sun, and Metro News (links below). The weather was also amazingly cooperative: There was no rain for the duration and the sun peeked through the clouds much of the time. The only disturbing note was that City Hall police barred an estimated 75 people from joining the rally because they arrived more than 20 minutes late (after 12:20 pm). They were forced to watch from outside the gate. Whatever happened to the idea of City Hall being "the people's house"? Below is a link to a short film of the rally by Bike TV's Clarence Eckerson. Ken Coughlin, Chair homepage.mac.com/trorb/BikeTV/iMovieTheater140.html March 8, 2006 Yes, another rally – and this one could be the most crucial one yet in the 40-year campaign to ban traffic from Central Park's loop road. This time we are taking our message right to City Hall, and the message is this: please close the loop road to cars for three months this summer and test once and for all the feasibility of a car-free park. No more "sky will fall" predictions of gridlock. No more unfair studies. Just a real-world trial to see what actually happens. The rally will take place at noon on Sunday, March 26. If you care about achieving a car-free park, you should find a way to be there, with your kids, with your friends, with everyone you can bring. Over the last several months we've been working hard behind the scenes to achieve a Car-Free Summer 2006, and we have it on good authority that the concept is being seriously considered at the highest levels. A strong turnout at the rally will help the cause immeasurably. Please RSVP at carfreecentralpark.org. We'd like to take advantage of the forecast warm weather this weekend to distribute rally flyers in the park. If you can help with this, please reply to this e-mail and specify day and time you are available. We're close, folks! November 30, 2005 Many people on this list who recently e-mailed the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) about closing the Central Park loop to cars have received the same disappointing reply, addressed to "Concerned Residents of New York City." The reply is doubly disappointing because it coincides with the DOT's annual elimination of weekday car-free hours until after the New Year. Both the DOT's reply and its decision to invite more people to drive to Midtown by eliminating weekday hours demand a response, and I hope that all of you will do so here. Underlying the DOT's tired rhetoric and misinformation is one fundamental reality: it is more interested in the "needs" of a relative handful of motorists than it is in the health and safety of Central Park's recreational users. These priorities will change only when enough New Yorkers demand that they change. You are a key part of that change, whether you know it or not. Not everyone can attend a rally or spend hours volunteering, but practically everyone can take two minutes to send an e-mail demanding that their voice be heard. Until New Years, the park drives will be open to traffic from 7 AM to 7 PM Monday to Friday, and a portion of the East Drive will remain open from 7 PM to 10 PM at night and on weekdays "when necessary." The DOT says all this is needed "to provide additional capacity to help process the expected increase in vehicular trips during the holiday season." This despite the fact that its own study failed to find an increase in traffic volumes on southbound arteries in mid-December 2004. Old habits die hard. Below is the text of the DOT's reply to your e-mails. In your new message to the agency, I hope you will stress the need for a real-world study – a three-month trial closing of the park to cars next summer. To assess the feasibility of closing Central Park to cars based on a study conducted during "The Gates" is absurd. The art installation attracted more than 4 million visitors to the park, 1.5 million of whom were from out of town. One would expect traffic to increase somewhat in the best of circumstances. As it was, what the DOT calls "significant traffic volume increases" when the drives were closed amounted to four additional cars a minute at the worst-affected intersection. Hardly the stuff of traffic nightmares. If the city could survive three weeks of closed park roads during an influx of 4 million visitors, it will be able to survive a three-month trial closing next summer. Tell the DOT it's time to conduct this real-world test of a car-free park, rather than continuing to predict that the sky will fall. The DOT letter: Dear Concerned Residents of New York City: Thank you for your email requesting the closure of the Central Park Loop to cars. The Department of Transportation has examined this idea at length and our studies indicate that completely closing the Central Park Loop to traffic would adversely affect pollution and congestion levels throughout Manhattan. Over the past several years, the Department has received numerous requests from area residents and community groups advocating for increasing roadway closure hours, closing additional entrances and/or exits or banning motor vehicle traffic from the park drives, while other advocates have voiced interest in increasing the availability of the park drives to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow on the surrounding street network. In the 1990's, the Department conducted a study of the thoroughfares in and around Central Park to determine the impact of reducing or eliminating access to vehicular traffic. The study showed that closing the park drives entirely to motor vehicle traffic would not be feasible because traffic congestion and resultant air pollution would increase significantly on the streets surrounding the park. Since the Department's policies regarding vehicular use of park drives attempts to balance the needs of all users, in November 2004 we re-examined the issue. As a result, the Department implemented a series of measures to improve safety and expand opportunities for recreational users of the park. This included closing the Park Loop to vehicles entirely from 7pm to 7am, reducing the speed limit on the Loop to 25 mph from 30 mph, restricting the use of the Loop to vehicles with two or more occupants during morning rush hours, and closing several entrances and exits. In February 2005, setup and dismantling of The Gates required the full closure of the Central Park Loop, as well as partial closure of the Park Loop during the two-week exhibit. As a result of these temporary closures, there were significant traffic volume increases on most roadways in the vicinity of the park. The impacts were more widespread during the full closure of the park drives and more concentrated on roadways adjacent to the park during the partial closure. While we continue to investigate opportunities to limit traffic on the Central Park Loop, it remains a critical transportation link for commuters and we are unable to completely close the roadway to vehicles at this time. Please be assured that the Department will continue to examine this issue and make adjustments whenever possible. Thank you for your input. Thank you for contacting the Department of Transportation November 3, 2005 1. Public Advocate Gotbaum Calls for Trial Ban New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum has issued a strong statement in support of Transportation Alternatives' proposed three-month trial closure of Central Park next summer. "I am glad to be part of the very impressive grassroots coalition of organizations, citizens, and elected officials united behind this effort," said Gotbaum, a former Parks Commissioner, in a press statement. "If a trial closure to vehicles in the loop proves successful and does not have an adverse impact on the neighboring community, the City should then move forward with a permanent ban on loop traffic. . . . Nothing is more out of character with Central Park's purpose than to have vehicular traffic in the loop during weekdays."Read Gotbaum's full statement.
2. Thank the City for the Marathon Closure January 9, 2005: Is Traffic Entering the Park Illegally? We heard that one morning last week cars were using the West 96th Street entrance to the park's loop road as early as 6:40 am – 20 minutes before the park is supposed to be open to traffic under the new rules. Obviously, this creates a serious safety hazard for recreational users who assume the park is car-free until 7. We're not sure whether officials opened the entrance early or whether cars were slipping around the barrier. More importantly, we don't know whether this is an isolated incident or is happening routinely. If you use the park before 7, you can help us by keeping an eye out for traffic violating the new rules. If you see this, try to identify where the traffic is entering the park and report it to us by replying to this e-mail or sending a message to centralpark@transalt.org The recent celebration of the new car-free hours and entrance closings was fun. A hardy group braved the rain and cold to don party hats, eat cake, blow noisemakers, and take part in a ceremonial closing of the 110th Street and Lenox Avenue entrance. The entrance would remain closed until 7 am the following morning, something that hasn't happened on a regular weekday in any of our lifetimes. Council member Gale Brewer who represents Manhattan's Upper West Side came to give moral support. Thank you, Gale! Now that our radar gun has a new battery, we will be resuming our test of whether the new 25 mph speed limit is doing anything to rein in the park's speeders. Stay tuned. Ken Coughlin, Chair December 29, 2004: Invitation to a celebration Beginning next week, for the first time in the modern era, the city
will close off car access to Central Park at 7 pm and will not reopen
the park to cars until 7 the following morning. Please join
Transportation Alternatives and fellow park users this Monday, January
3, at 6:45 pm at the 110th Street and Lenox Avenue entrance to Central
Park to celebrate the official beginning of overnight car-free hours. November 29, 2004: Monitors needed The high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) restrictions have gone into effect on the West Drive and the 25 mph speed limit is supposedly in effect throughout the drive (although we don't know whether there is new signage up yet). We'll need volunteers over the next few weeks to monitor how effectively these new rules are being enforced. There were a number of single-passenger cars in the park this morning (Monday, 11/29), but the traffic enforcement folks at the entrances were handing out only warnings and flyers. They promised that ticketing would begin tomorrow. One problem is that the solid tinting of the windows of some cars (which I believe is illegal) makes it impossible to tell whether the driver has any passengers. A traffic officer at a 110th Street entrance told me that they will be issuing tickets for illegally tinted windows as well. (Don't hold your breath.) Checking on the HOV enforcement involves simply standing at some point on the West drive during the morning rush for half an hour or so and keeping a count of how many single-passenger vehicles pass by out of how many cars total. We also need people to visit the main West Drive entrances, such as at 110th Street, to see how the police are enforcing the rule. We'll do the speed enforcement, using the TA radar gun, in about two weeks, after things have settled down a bit. If you'd like to volunteer for some of this, let us know by reply e-mail. WE GOT PUBLISHED! At last count, we have had a total of 10 letters published in all four major dailies, and two of our number got letters in two papers simultaneously! The letters are terrific; way to go! Interestingly, we haven't seen any letters favoring cars in the park. If there's a constituency for that, they are pretty quiet. Also, today's amNewYork featured a "Letter to Mayor Bloomberg" by yours truly, and keep an eye out for a Transportation Alternatives Op-Ed piece in the New York Post. Below are links to the recent letters. Ken Coughlin, Chair Transportation Alternatives' Car-Free Central Park Committee Post: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/letters/35114.htm Daily News: Voice of the People And the following letter was published in today's Newsday (doesn't yet have its own URL): Park upgrade Congratulations are in order for New York City's Department of Transportation's decision to close four Central Park entrances and exits to the Central Park Loop ["It's pro-foot in the park," News, Nov. 22]. This represents another step in the long process of fulfilling many NYC citizens' dream of totally eliminating traffic entirely from the Central Park loop drive. The arguments supporting a total ban are compelling: a) public safety of runners, bikers and children; b) the health of trees and other vegetation, along with that of all park-goers, justify the reduction of fumes; and c) the available a traffic-free path for emergency vehicles. Readers should remember that advocates for a car-free Central Park continue to support the four transverse roadways that shuttle traffic from East to West (and back). The transverses were a part of the original design of Central Park and are sunk well below the park surface to be hidden from recreational users. Many taxi drivers have complained that the new regulations will prevent them from taking a much-used shortcut when Fifth Avenue or Central Park West are clogged with traffic. However, cabbies can take a road further East or West instead. I implore readers not to support taxi drivers who use the loop this holiday season. Please ask them not to use the Central Park Loop, and tip extra if they promise to never use the loop for their other clients. Rick Miller November 22, 2004: Write Letters All four major daily newspapers have articles on the impending changes on the Central Park loop today. It's important that we who want a car-free park write letters to the editor supporting of the improvements but also calling for the total elimination of traffic from the loop drive. The letters should be short and sweet – three to five sentences, tops. If you need inspiration on what to say, go to our Web site, www.car-freecentralpark.org. Some letter writers might also mention that the campaign has now gathered more than 75,000 petition signatures in support of a car-free loop drive. Below are links to the various articles and e-mail addresses or Web sites for letters submissions. In the case of the Times, at least, time is of the essence -- they often print letters the next day. For further inspiration, here's an adaptation of a letter I wrote
recently to the Times: "Any discussion of cars on Central Park's loop drive is incomplete without the recognition that the presence of traffic there violates the park designers' intention that the roadway be used purely for recreation. This is why they sank the four transverse roads well below the park's surface. While the increased car-free hours, further entrance closings and
other changes are a welcome step in the right direction, what is
stopping the city from instituting a total ban on a trial basis? If the
outcome of other road closings around the world is any indication, this
will result in a win-win for the city: fewer cars clogging Midtown
streets, and the renewal of Central Park as an urban sanctuary." Ken Coughlin, Chair Send letters to: letters@nytimes.com Daily News Send letters to: voicers@edit.nydailynews.com Send letters to: letters@newsday.com Post Letters: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/letters/letters_editor.htm The city's Department of Transportation has just made the following announcement: "The New York City Departments of Transportation and Parks & Recreation announced today a series of steps the City will take to increase recreational use of Central Park. These steps include reducing the speed limit on Park drives, permanently closing a number of entrances and exits and reducing the number of hours the Park is open to vehicles. The changes will be phased in during the next few weeks, with full implementation expected by Monday, January 3, 2005, once the City's holiday traffic plan is no longer in effect. Also as part of the holiday plan, for the first time, a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) restriction will be in effect during the morning rush hour on the Park's West Drive." For the rest of the DOT's announcement, go to: http://nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/pr2004/pr04_138.html And look for coverage in tomorrow's (Monday's) papers. We had no idea the changes would come this quickly or that this many entrances would be closed. Congratulations to one and all!!!! A completely car-free park just got a lot closer. Ken Coughlin, Chair "Either we have hope within us or we don't: it is a dimension of the
soul... --Vaclav Havel November 1, 2004: A Big Breakthrough Hard on the heels of last week's triumphant rally, which drew more than 700 spirited attendees, the New York Times published a major story on page one of this past Sunday's Metro section referring to the rally and announcing that park and transportation officials are in discussions about closing three more entrances to the park and banning cars from the loop road between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. as early as this spring. The article also cites two important new studies. The first, which counted cars entering the park several months ago, found that traffic is down an average of 26 percent since 1991. The second, by the Regional Plan Association, indicates that closing the loop to traffic entirely "would not significantly increase traffic on major avenues outside the park, as some have ominously predicted." The article appears after this message (minus the two great pictures of the loop with and without cars) and can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/31/nyregion/31cars.html These new developments are largely owing to the hard work of a small band of tireless car-free park volunteers and savvy and equally hard working Transportation Alternatives staffers. All deserve a heartfelt round of applause. But as welcome as the proposed incremental improvements would be, rest assured that the campaign will not stop until the loop road has been returned to its original status as a place of recreation and renewal. Ken Coughlin, Chair October 25, 2004: The Rally Is Tomorrow! Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 26, is the day we've all been waiting for:
the huge rally for a car-free Central Park. Galvanized by 75,000
petition signatures, new support from elected officials and the public
health community, and a traffic analysis showing that closing Central
Park's loop drive to motor vehicle traffic would cause only a small
impact on traffic on surrounding streets, New Yorkers will rally for a
car-free Central Park from 7 – 8:30 pm at Landmark on the Park (inside
the Unitarian Universalist Church), 160 Central Park West at 76th
Street. Folks, the Car-Free Central Park Campaign just officially passed the 75,000-signature mark! A heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers who have helped make this remarkable achievement possible (you know who you are). To celebrate, we'll be in the park tomorrow, Wednesday, for about an hour and a half handing out cards promoting the upcoming rally. We'll be in the park starting at 5:30 pm on the West Drive at about 85th Street, near the walkway that leads to the north end of the Great Lawn. If you can come by to help, please reply to this e-mail. And, if you haven't yet RSVP'd for the October 26 rally, don't delay! Go to http://www.car-freecentralpark.org to find out more and RSVP for this crucially important gathering. Ken Coughlin, Chair June 28, 2004: Campaign Update We will be petitioning in the park this Thursday, July 1, at 5:30 pm at the intersection of the West Drive and the 72nd Street crossing, just down the hill from Strawberry Fields. We really would like to see some new faces out there! There are now more than 1,000 people on this list who fervently want a car free park. Getting to 100,000 signatures is crucially important to making our case that New Yorkers want a car-free park. The more volunteers we have, the faster we will reach that goal (only 34,000 signatures to go!). Helping to gather signatures is fun and rewarding because most people are so appreciative that SOMEONE is doing this. If you're on the shy side, you can just hold a sign or hand out flyers. How about it? But petitioning isn't the only thing that's happening with the campaign; we're moving forward on a number of other important fronts: 1. We are gathering much-needed data on crashes between cars and recreational users on the drive. This is devilishly difficult because a variety of responders must be contacted (police, fire, EMS, hospitals). We are also getting testimonials from medical professionals on how the presence of car traffic is contributing to crashes between competing recreational users who are shoehorned into the narrow "recreational" lane. 2. We have completed a second study of speeding traffic in the park. The results were essentially the same as with the first study: most cars are speeding, and about one-quarter are exceeding the posted limit by 10 mph or more. The good news is that the Central Park Precinct now has a new commanding officer, Capt. Drew Capul, and precinct representatives say they will begin cracking down on speeders. They want to take a look at our study. 3. In about two weeks we expect the results of the Conservancy's study of the feasibility of keeping the park drive closed to traffic until 8 am on weekdays, as well as the permanent closing of several little-used entrances. 4. We are taking major steps to mobilize petition signers, both
through creating an e-database of signers and identifying Parents for a
Car-Free Central Park. 5. Transportation Alternatives' Central Park Campaign just received a sizeable donation to help with this and other work. 6. In all these efforts we are being re-energized by Transportation Alternatives' dynamic new executive director, Paul White. Hope to see you Thursday. Ken Coughlin, Chair April 23, 2004: Earth Day, Park Study, Speeding, Petitioning Dear Loyal and Determined Friends of a Car-Free Central Park: It's been a long, chilly winter and early spring, but WE'RE BACK! What better way to begin the 2004 campaign for a car-free (and environmentally sustainable) Central Park than at an Earth Day celebration in the park this Saturday (tomorrow)? Some of us will be on the Earth Day bike ride that leaves Union Square at about 1:30 pm and ends up at the Central Park Earth Day Fair on the Great Hill (above Central Park West from 103rd Street to 107th Street on the west side of the park). The Fair goes from 11 am until 4 pm. If you can help distribute our brand-new snazzy flyers and gather petition signatures any time during the Fair, please reply to this message. For more on the bike ride, go to:
http://www.times-up.org/earth.php . For details on the Earth Day
Fair and directions, go to:
http://www.centralparknyc.org/17613/183126 Many of you have sent Transportation Alternatives copies of letters or e-mails you have received from the Parks Department in response to your correspondence calling for a car-free park. Since January, the Parks Department has been mentioning in its correspondence a traffic study they have underway to assess increases in car-free hours and possible entrance closings. It seems likely that study will be shown to the public sometime this spring or summer. It could very well be that all of that petitioning, letter-writing and determined call for a car-free park may have finally motivated the Parks Department to do something. We will keep you posted on any new developments. Please keep sending copies of your correspondence to T.A. (115 West 30th Street, Suite 1207, 10001). In the meantime, Transportation Alternatives' campaign for a car-free park is continuing on other fronts. First, we will be conducting more measurements of vehicle speeds on the loop drive. We have no reason to believe that cars have slowed since our study last fall revealed that 90 percent of the traffic is exceeding the speed limit. Why are we doing this? To show city officials that cars are not a benign presence in the park and that the police cannot be expected to provide the enforcement necessary to keep speeds down. The only solution is to get the cars out. In addition, the petition campaign is proceeding. Our tally stands at 62,400, about where it has been since last October. Our goal is still 100,000 signatures. With a good effort this summer, we will be within striking distance of that figure. The petition campaign also keeps the issue of a car-free park out in front of the public and public officials. We'll use this e-mail list to let you know when we'll be collecting signatures. I'm looking forward to working with you in 2004. Remember, as important as a car-free Central Park is to our city, it will never happen without YOUR help. Ken Coughlin January 1, 2003: Year-End Reportt Although we didn't achieve a car-free park in 2002, or any incremental improvements toward that goal, it was an extremely productive year for the Car-Free Central Park Campaign. During the course of the year we picked up crucial endorsements, met with key elected officials, and laid other important groundwork that will pay off down the road. Considering that the city was still reeling from 9/11 and government officials were preoccupied with budget woes, our achievements were remarkable. Here are a few of the highlights, followed by our objectives for 2003: We Took the Petition Drive to New Heights: We added an astonishing 19,000 petition signatures during the year—virtually all of them gathered between April and November. (Twice we collected more than 1,000 signatures in a single day.) Our signature total is now over 44,000. This was all owing to some incredibly dedicated volunteers and to the savvy use of events like SummerStage, concerts in the park, the New York Bike Show and the Transportation Alternatives Century. We Gained Key Endorsements: The Car-Free Central Park Campaign picked up some important endorsements in 2002. Both the New York Cycle Club and the Five Borough Bike Club for the first time agreed to publicly back the campaign, and so did the American Lung Association of the City of New York. The Lung Association's endorsement came with a strongly worded statement on the hazards of exercising alongside traffic. In addition, the Sierra Club has established a car-free parks task force and we can look forward to greater support and involvement from this influential group. In a major symbolic coup, we asked for and received an inspiring statement of support from famed writer and urbanist Jane Jacobs. Now an octogenarian living in Toronto, Mrs. Jacobs helped lead the successful fight for a car-free Washington Square Park in the late 1950s. We Secured More Political Backing: Early in the year Council Speaker Gifford Miller renewed his unwavering support for a car-free park. In addition, we had a very productive meeting with City Council Member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side. Brewer reiterated her support for a three-month trial closing of the park to traffic. We also had several impromptu meetings with Council Member Philip Reed, who represents East Harlem, which resulted in his support for a three-month trial closing and his pledge to put this proposal before the Council's Manhattan delegation for a vote. (This is a new and exciting development not previously reported.) We Met With Other Important Players: We also had a very positive “get-acquainted” meeting with Dr. Regina Peruggi, president of the Central Park Conservancy. Our meeting with Road Runners Club president Allan Steinfeld was less positive; Steinfeld essentially said that the club would not support a car-free park out of fear that the Parks Department might retaliate by taking away the club's perks. We Gained Media Exposure: Between ourselves and the Prospect Park campaign we kept the issue of car-free parks in the public eye for much of the year. The Central Park Campaign was featured on NY1 repeatedly during one summer day, several campaign members had letters printed in the New York Times, and the idea of a car-free Central Park was mentioned during one of the gubernatorial debates. All this media exposure stemmed directly or indirectly from the petition campaign, which is the best way we've found to attract media attention. Finally, we made our voices heard at a New York Public Library panel discussion on politics and parks. We Gathered Traffic Data to Support Our Position: We also made great strides in determining precisely how much traffic is using the park, traffic volume at various entrances, and the impact of a park closing. Our multi-day traffic counts at five little used entrances demonstrated that these entrances could be closed with barely a ripple. We also collected license plate data on hundreds of cars entering the park and are now waiting for Transportation Alternatives to get updated software from the state DOT so we can determine where traffic using the park originates. Finally, we conducted some very limited counts comparing Upper West Side traffic during the closing of the West Drive for the Marathon and afterwards. Our results showed that the slight uptick in traffic when the drive was closed had absolutely no impact on traffic flow on Central Park West or Columbus Avenue. In fact, the only reported traffic jam occurred when the park drive was open to cars! We Fought for Timely Entrance Closings: We also continued to press the Central Park Precinct about its failure to close entrances on time and to crack down on speeders and cars encroaching on the “recreation lane.” We met with the precinct captain and kept the pressure on with follow-up calls and letters. Judging from the precinct's erratic performance in this area, we will have to continue pursuing this in '03. We Nearly Tripled Our Mailing List: Over the course of the year the number of people receiving these messages rose from 140 to 370. This may be the most important development of all, because in the long run it is committed and organized activists who turn dreams like a car-free Central Park into reality. E-mail is the perfect organizing tool for campaigns like ours. So whatever else you do, stay connected! Even if you can't help out with the campaign now, the time may come when you can. Without you and whatever support you can give, we're nothing. For ideas on how to help out now, go to www.car-freecentralpark.org and click on “Join the Campaign.” GOALS FOR '03: Can we achieve a car-free park in 2003? With this mayor, anything is possible. Given his advocacy of the recently signed smoking ban, the American Lung Association letter linking exercising while traffic is in the park with lung disease could be extremely valuable. But we know a car-free Central Park will never happen if we fail to maintain the pressure by building our petition numbers and keeping the issue before the administration and the public. Here are some goals for the coming year:
We'll be having a meeting early in '03 to discuss these and other initiatives and to plot strategy. We'll keep you posted. Ken Coughlin Chair, Car-Free Central Park Campaign October 14, 2002: Campaign Update The cooler weather and shorter days may have temporarily slowed the petition campaign, but we are moving ahead on other fronts. Here's what's happening: 1. The American Lung Association of the City of New York has endorsed the Car-Free Central Park Campaign! The association is concerned about the health effects on people who exercise in such close proximity to traffic. They are currently drafting a statement in support of the Campaign, which we'll share with you when it's ready. . On November 1, members of the Campaign will be meeting with the President of the Central Park Conservancy, Dr. Regina Peruggi. We hope to convince her to throw her organization's support behind winning a car-free park. We'll let you know what happens. 3. Mark your calendars: On Tuesday, November 12, at 6:30 pm, the New York Public Library will host a panel discussion titled “An Investigation into New York's Parks Politics.” One of the panelists is Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, and the moderator is Andrew Kirtzman from NY-1. Although no park issue in recent memory has generated as much political activity as car-free parks, no one from either the Car-Free Central Park or Prospect Park campaigns, or from Transportation Alternatives, was told about the discussion or invited to participate. Nevertheless, we plan to make sure the panel and the Commissioner DO NOT overlook this issue and are made aware of its importance to thousands of New Yorkers. We urge all supporters of car-free parks to attend and make themselves heard. Tickets to the event, which will be held in the South Court auditorium of the main library at 42nd St., are $10. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com (for a $3 surcharge), in person at either of the Library shops, or by mail. Tickets may also be available at the door on the day of, beginning at 5:45 pm, but there is no guarantee. For more information, go to: http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/forum17.html Ken Coughlin October 7, 2002: A Record Breaking Day! “Super Sunday” was an unbelievable success. Over the course of the day we collected an incredible 1,360 petition signatures—520 more than the old single-day record. The secrets of our success--other than that we are promoting a wildly popular cause--were that we had enough volunteers to cover two different spots in the park and we had more advertising thanks to six new signs, created through the heroic efforts of two non-artist volunteers. Wilton Woods held down the 72nd St. location from 6 am until 7 pm, with help from others who came and went, while five other volunteers worked the crowd at the Not In Our Name anti-war rally. As a result, we're now closing in on 43,000 signatures. The volunteers who made Sunday possible deserve a round of applause for all their hard work. And a special round should be reserved for Wilton, who in the past two months has singlehandedly taken the petition campaign to another level entirely. We're going to lose Wilton for the next few months, and he will be sorely missed. Ken Coughlin September 4, 2002: Radar Guns Our outing on Tuesday evening was remarkable not so much for the number of signatures (only 180) but for the number of complaints about cars speeding on the drive. One father pushing is son in a jogging stroller said he had narrowly escaped being mowed down by a cabbie hurtling around a curve. He was still shaking as he signed the petition. He was surprised to learn, as we had been when we met with the Central Park Precinct captain in July, that the precinct has no radar guns and thus no way of enforcing the speed limit on the park drives on a regular basis. If precinct officers identify an area where speeding is a problem, they must call on the highway patrol, which has radar guns and is trained to use them. Unlike the Central Park Precinct, Transportation Alternatives has a radar gun. We trained it on the park drive one morning and clocked traffic averaging 38 mph in a 30-mph zone. When we informed the Central Park Precinct captain of this, she did not appear surprised. You can reach the Precinct's community affairs desk at (212) 570-4842. Ken Coughlin July 11, 2002: A Meeting You Must Attend I am writing to urge you, in the strongest terms, to attend a Town Hall meeting in Brooklyn next Wednesday, July 17, on a proposal to ban cars from Prospect Park on a trial basis. The meeting is at 6:30 at Union Temple, at 17 Eastern Parkway on Grand Army Plaza (directions below). This is an event that could well determine the fate of the Central Park campaign. A trial closing of Prospect Park has broad political support in Brooklyn and is a very real possibility in the near future. But before the trial closing can go into effect, two important holdouts need to be convinced: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and New York City Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall. Both have given some indication they would be willing to consider a trial ban, but without a large turnout at the forum, they will not take the movement seriously, nor will they feel compelled to take action. If Prospect Park goes car-free, it will help the Central Park campaign immensely. First, it will give the lie to the belief that “traffic chaos” inevitably results when park roads are closed. There are already many examples from around the world that this does not happen, but Prospect Park will provide a fresh example right in our own backyard, as it were. Second, more and more Manhattanites will be asking why Brooklyn has a car-free refuge while Manhattan still does not. The contrast will be striking. If you possibly can, drop everything and attend this meeting and show your support for car-free parks. Tell your friends as well. Directions to Union Temple: Take the 1 or 2 (IRT) train to the Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum stop. Walk west along Eastern Parkway (towards Grand Army Plaza) one very long block, then cross Eastern Parkway. The Temple is right there on the corner. Ken Coughlin June 28, 2002: Speeding in the Park We took a radar gun into the park yesterday morning and clocked traffic on the West Drive between 90th Street and 86th Street. Speeds ranged between 32 and 42 mph, with most traffic moving at a 37-38 mph clip. (The speed limit is 30 mph.) We have a meeting scheduled with the Central Park precinct captain and we'll be raising this issue along with the precinct's continued inability to close entrances in a timely manner. Ken Coughlin June 13, 2002: A Night at the Opera and Coverage on NY1 Petitioning in conjunction with the opera in the park on Tuesday was a brilliant success—lots of volunteers and tons of signatures (580). That plus the 806 from Monday gave us nearly 1,400 in just two days. Way to go! Our presence in the park benefits us in many ways. A producer with NY1 got hit up for his signature so many times that he finally decided to do a piece on the Campaign. It's been running all day today; perhaps some of you have caught it. If not, here's a Web link to the text. I asked the reporter if she'd gotten a comment from the Department of Transportation. She said DOT told her they would wait to see how many petition signatures we got. Do we need any more incentive than that? Ken Coughlin April 29, 2002: Meeting with Gale Brewer We had a very productive meeting with City Councilmember Gale Brewer,
who represents the Upper West Side, last week. She reiterated her
support for a three-month trial closing of the park to traffic and
promised to approach the head of the Central Park West coop association,
whom she knows, about the idea. Ms. Brewer also expressed a willingness
to approach other key city officials later, and gave us the names of
many people both within and outside of city government who could be
potential allies. We got the impression that while not an all-out Our Web site now features photos from recent petitioning in the park.
Go to www.car-freecentralpark.org,
click on Join the Campaign at the left, and then scroll down to
"Where to Find Us in the Park" and click Ken Coughlin April 23, 2002: Petitioning and Betsy Gotbaum Last week's petitioning was very successful in several ways. First, we gathered 469 signatures in about two hours. The response from park users was again fantastic and rewarding. The highlight was the George Washington High School girls' softball team, which signed and then spontaneously created a car-free Central Park chant, which they continued to chant as they left the park. New York City's Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum also happened by. She reiterated her support for the campaign's goal but expressed concern about the traffic consequences. We gave her our literature on this, and she liked the idea of a three-month trial closing. She promised to discuss a three-month closing with Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. We are currently preparing for our meeting with Councilmember Gale Brewer this Thursday. March 29, 2002: Report on the Recent Meeting We had a productive meeting of Car-Free Central Park Campaign volunteers last week. Chairing the meeting was Transportation Alternatives' Campaigns Director Ellen Cavanagh. Following is a summary. Sorry for the length, but we wanted to be thorough. For volunteer opportunities, look for the heading “HOW YOU CAN HELP”: The Campaign has pursued a two-pronged strategy over the past two years: 1) Demonstrate the overwhelming support for a car-free park; and 2) Gain the backing of elected officials. We have made good progress on both fronts. Demonstrating Support We launched the petition campaign in spring 2000. We gathered 11,000 signatures that year and another 14,000 last year, for a current total of 25,000. Our goal is 100,000, which political insiders tell us is the magic number to get the attention of the administration. At the meeting, we discussed ways to achieve this goal: 1. We agreed to make a concerted effort to approach other sympathetic organizations that may be willing to publicize the petition to their memberships (and also endorse a “sign-on” letter supporting a car-free park). Our new capability of allowing people to sign online is a big plus because it allows us to place Web links on organizational Web sites. Organizations we plan to approach include the Municipal Art Society, the New York Cycle Club, the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, the Big Apple Greeters, the Shorewalkers, the Parks Council and the Road Runners Club. HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you know of other organizations or groups that you would be willing to approach, let us know. How about your local block association? We need the backing of as many block associations as we can get. 2. Transportation Alternatives (TA) will be including the petition in an upcoming mailing of its magazine to specific Manhattan zip codes. Depending on the response, this may be expanded to the entire TA membership. The idea is if each TA member could complete a petition sheet of 25 names, we would have well over 100,000 signatures right there. 3. The petition will be featured in an upcoming issue of TA's online E-Bulletin. 4. We plan to have a table at the upcoming New York Bike Show (May 2-4) HOW YOU CAN HELP: Let us know if you are available to be at a table during a portion of the show. 5. We will continue to be a petitioning presence in the park and at other events at least one day a week. HOW YOU CAN HELP: Stay tuned to messages on this mailing list and take part in petitioning activities whenever you can. We need you! Celebrities We also discussed enlisting the public support of a celebrity or two, which would inevitably raise the Campaign's profile. Names that came up at the meeting included Susan Sarandon, Woody Allen, Sting, Matthew Broderick (a cyclist), Robin Williams (a cyclist), Bette Midler, David Byrne, Robert DeNiro, Rosie O'Donnell, Bill Clinton (he now works just north of the park), Howard Stern, Steve Martin and John McEnroe. HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you know someone who knows someone who knows one of these people (or any other likely celebrity), or if you have contact information, by all means let us know. Elected Officials We already have the backing of City Council Speaker Gifford Miller; upper Manhattan councilmembers Eva Moskowitz, Phil Reed and Gale Brewer (three-month trial closing only); and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum (at least she signed the petition when she was running for office). We are setting up meetings with Speaker Miller, Councilmember Brewer and Public Advocate Gotbaum to plan strategy. We will ask Ms. Gotbaum if her office can fund a traffic impact study. TA is also reaching out to new Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, who comes from a family of car-free park supporters. One meeting attendee volunteered to approach the leadership of the Central Park Conservancy, which effectively runs the park but so far has not taken a position on cars in the park. We understand that individual Conservancy board members support a car-free park. Interim Goals As much as we all want it, a car-free park is probably not in the cards for this summer. One factor is that Transportation Commissioner Weinshall is unwilling to make even minor changes affecting traffic patterns in the wake of 9/11. But we believe that some interim steps that could lead to a full closing are a strong possibility this summer. Leading the list is closing the park to traffic overnight so that the park would be car-free from 7 in the evening until 8 the next morning. We recognize that there is the perception among some people that the park is safer after dark with cars in it. However, there is no evidence for this, and in fact Prospect Park has become safer since cars were banned from certain areas at night. Having the park closed overnight is hugely symbolic because it would mean that for the first time, traffic in the park would be the exception, not the rule. Other interim goals are the “greening” (closing to cars) of selected park entrances, a car-free north loop, and, of course, a three-month trial closing. Other Items One meeting attendee volunteered to do traffic counts in the park, which the Campaign sorely needs. HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you'd like to participate in this, let us know. We also discussed enforcing the current park rules. We will be setting up a meeting with the new captain of the Central Park Precinct to discuss closing entrances on time, not opening them early, and enforcing speed limits. Warm weather is here . . . support continues to build for a car-free park . . . the movement towards it is inexorable and unstoppable . . . I hope you will stand up for your park by helping out with the Campaign this spring and summer. Ken Coughlin March 17, 2002: Upper West Side Town Hall Meeting Here's a great opportunity to let your elected representatives know how much the community wants a car-free Central Park: There will be an Upper West Side Town Hall Meeting, March 20, 2002, with state Senator Eric Schneiderman, Assemblymember Scott Stringer and City Council Member Gale Brewer this Wednesday, March 20, 2002, from 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the Council Senior Center, 241 West 72nd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY. There will be refreshments. The elected officials say "It will be an open forum where you can speak with us about the issues that are on your mind. Find out what we're up to and how we can address your community concerns." Ask them why after 35 years of marches and rallies, tens of thousands of petition signatures, and countless collisions involving cars, the Central Park drive cannot finally be returned to its rightful recreational users. Tell them that now, more than ever, New Yorkers need a place of tranquility and solitude. (If you need more inspiration on what to say, see our Web site, www.car-freecentralpark.org) And don't forget the Car-Free Central Park Campaign meeting the day before, Tuesday, March 19, 6:30, Transportation Alternatives, 115 West 30th St., Suite 1207. Ken Coughlin, Campaign Chair March 11, 2002: Planning Meeting and Jane Jacobs Statement The Car-Free Central Park Campaign will meet to plan strategy for the coming months on Tuesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the offices of Transportation Alternatives (115 West 30th Street, Suite 1207, between 6th and 7th Avenues). If you think you can make it, please let us know by reply e-mail. If you cannot attend but have ideas for the Campaign, feel free to contribute them by replying to this message before Tuesday. At this point, we know the petition campaign will continue. We currently have well over 25,000 signatures, although we are searching for better ways to quickly gather large numbers of signatures. We will also be discussing the opportunities and pressure points in the city's new political climate. In other news, the Car-Free Central Park Campaign has received a statement of endorsement from famed writer and urbanist Jane Jacobs. Jacobs is the author of the classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which The New York Times has described as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning.” Here is Jacobs' statement, which will soon be posted on our Web site, www.car-freecentralpark.org:
January 20, 2002: City Council Speaker Miller Renews Support for Car-Free Park Appearing on WNYC radio's ‘On the Line' last Friday (Jan. 18), new City Council Speaker Gifford Miller expressed strong support for a car-free Central Park. In response to a caller's question about his willingness to promote alternatives to the car in the city, Miller cited his backing of a car-free park as a prime example of his interest in reducing car traffic. “I've been a supporter of Transportation Alternatives' goal to close Central Park to motorists because I think that we need to preserve areas which are free of cars and of course encourage bicycling,” Miller said. You can hear the entire interview by going to www.wnyc.org, clicking on Archives, then On the Line, then finding the segment under Friday, January 18. Ken Coughlin January 17, 2002: Campaign Update In case you were wondering, the Car-Free Central Park Campaign has not dropped off the face of the earth. We have suspended petition gathering until things warm up a bit, but we are moving forward on other fronts. Also, we'll be having a Campaign meeting soon. Stay tuned. The biggest news is the election of Gifford Miller as City Council Speaker, the city's second-most-powerful position. About a year ago we met with Mr. Miller, whose district is on Manhattan's Upper East Side, and he expressed unequivocal support for a car-free Central Park, signing the petition without hesitation. His support could prove extremely valuable in the coming months. We are also arranging meetings with the New York Cycle Club and the Municipal Art Society in the expectation of enlisting their support in gathering petition signatures. We currently have 25,000 signatures and are shooting for 100,000—a figure that political insiders tell us is the “magic number” for getting the new administration to sit up and take notice. If you are on the park drive on weekday afternoons, you may have noticed cars filtering onto the park drives before 3 pm. We called the Parks Department, which is in charge of opening the park entrances to cars at this hour, and learned that since it takes them awhile to open all the entrances, they begin opening entrances at about 2:50 just to make sure that no automobile driver is forced to wait past 3 pm for access to the drive. Meanwhile, the Central Park Precinct, which is in charge of closing down the entrances again at 7 pm, will not close an entrance until at least 7 pm and often later, even though it takes them roughly the same amount of time to close all the entrances. The message is clear: the goal of both departments is to give cars as much time on the park drives as possible, even if they have to violate the park rules to do so. By our calculation, these policies are depriving park users of about 130 car-free hours a year. If you are concerned about this, call the Parks Department at 212-628-1036. Ask them why they are putting the “needs” of cars before those of legitimate park users. Finally, we have had reports that the Central Park police are zealously ticketing bicyclists who ride on the park paths. A cyclist who was ticketed recently near the north end of the Great Lawn said two officers hid behind a bush to catch him, and then seemed apologetic, saying that the Central Park Conservancy had put them up to it. The Conservancy denies this and contends that the precinct is merely responding to complaints from park users. Ken Coughlin November 13, 2001: Onward Well, the bad news is that we have a new mayor whose stated position on a car-free Central Park is “not in your or my lifetime.” On its face, that's pretty discouraging. What's the good news? There are a number of hopeful signs that we may be able to turn the new mayor around on this issue. First, Bloomberg's campaign positions on other transportation-related issues were pretty enlightened, and, for my money, better and more detailed than Green's. Bloomberg has consistently displayed a recognition that the way to address the city's traffic problems is to discourage the use of the private car and to make alternatives more attractive. All we have to do is persuade him and/or his deputies that making the Central Park drive available to traffic is contributing to the city's traffic woes. Since Bloomberg already appears to believe that cars do not have a God-given right to our precious street space, it seems a small leap to convince him that they don't have a God-given right to invade our nation's foremost urban park either. Also, Bloomberg's other comments on Central Park in Time Out New York suggest that he doesn't understand the fundamental point that the loop drive, unlike the transverses, was always intended to be a part of the park. How do we propose to “get to” Bloomberg? A lot depends on whom the mayor-elect names to key positions like Transportation Commissioner, Parks Commissioner, and deputy mayor positions. If progressive people like the current DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall are appointed (or, in Weinshall's case, kept on), then we've got a great head start. We already have other political assets, including the support of four City Council members whose districts surround the park. We also plan on seeking the active involvement in the campaign of supportive groups like the Sierra Club, the Municipal Arts Society, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Most importantly, the election outcome makes our ongoing petition campaign all the more crucial. Now, more than ever, we need to reach a signature total that demonstrates huge public support for a car-free Central Park. Our current 23,000 signatures, while impressive, is not nearly enough. 100,000 is more like it, and in fact Mark Green's transportation advisers privately told us before the election that we would need to reach this number for their candidate to withstand the powerful forces that will inevitably rise up in opposition to a car-free park. (Yes, it seems that even Green's support, strong as it was, wasn't entirely ‘in the bag'.) Finally, the more signatures we collect and the more we reach out to other groups and decisionmakers, the more the press takes notice. In this past Sunday's New York Times Magazine, Times columnist John Tierney outlines a traffic manifesto for “the next New York” in which he states, “Cars deserve to be banished from other places too, like the loop road on [sic] Central Park.” (see page 99) Having a regular Times columnist on our side is huge, and be assured that we plan to take full advantage. I assume that many of you were temporarily discouraged, as I was, by the election's outcome. But all is not lost, not by a longshot. We just have to redouble our efforts. This is a great and important cause. We may not win in the short run, but we will prevail in the long run. Efforts aimed at creating a more humane world always do prevail. Mr. Bloomberg's unfortunate initial comment notwithstanding, I plan on living a long life, and I intend to spend much of it enjoying, and watching others enjoy, the pleasures of a car-free Central Park. Ken Coughlin November 5, 2001: Report on Marathon Weekend and Election Reminder The Marathon weekend was spectacularly productive for us—901 signatures collected in four hours on Saturday (a new single-day record), and another 346 gathered during the Marathon itself on Sunday, for a total of 1,247 signatures added for the weekend. Thanks to all who made this possible. We've decided that in the unlikely event that cars aren't out of the park by this time next year, it would be excellent publicity for a member of our campaign to win the Marathon. Applications are being accepted. Don't forget to vote tomorrow! Following are the Republican and Democratic mayoral candidates' positions on the chances for a car-free park in their respective administrations, as reported in the current issue of Time Out New York: Michael Bloomberg: "Not in your or my lifetime. It would be nice if those roads had been [sunk] the way the transverses are, but there's no money to change that; I'm not sure you could anyway -- legally, it would be very difficult. And to close the roads in Central Park other than at off-hours, which we already do, would tie up traffic throughout the whole city." Mark Green: "I advocated a car-free Prospect Park and Central Park -- not counting cars driving on the transverses in Central Park -- but it has to be done with planning and environmental-impact statements. For example, does that desirable goal lead to more congestion in residential neighborhoods near the park?" Finally, as reported, an unofficial trial of a car-free Central Park has been proceeding for the past week and a half thanks to the Marathon-related closure of large sections of the park drive. Nevertheless, there has been no discernable increase in traffic volumes on Central Park West in the West 80s during the morning rush. The much-feared traffic chaos has failed to materialize. Is anyone paying attention? Ken Coughlin November 1, 2001: Marathon Petitioning and Bloomberg's Position Here are the meeting times/places for petitioning at Marathon events this weekend. Saturday, 2:30 pm, northwest corner of 67th Street and Central Park West. Sunday, 10 am, same location. (In the unlikely event that the police have cordoned off that corner for security reasons, the backup meeting place will be in front of the YMCA on 63rd Street between CPW and Broadway.) If you're planning on petitioning either or both days, please let me know by replying to this e-mail, and specify which days. We need to know how many petitions/clipboards/signs to bring. Michael Bloomberg has finally addressed the car-free parks issue. His position on car-free parks can be found in the current issue of Time Out New York. Basically, he says “Not in my lifetime, or in yours.” (Perhaps he's forgotten that he signed on to a transportation white paper several months ago that calls for, among other things, a car-free Prospect Park.) Mark Green's response is what we've been reporting all along—he intends to get the cars out, but doing so will require careful planning. Finally, the Parks Dept. is now saying that people who want to comment on the closing of the West Drive to traffic should e-mail Commissioner Henry Stern directly. His address is: starq-@parks.nyc.gov; If you can, e-mail him even if you've already called the 800-201-PARK number. Ken Coughlin October 28, 2001: Campaign Update and Plans for Marathon Weekend We closed out this year's weekday evening petitioning with a bang: 611 signatures for the week (186 collected on Monday and 425 collected on Wednesday). Now it's on to the Marathon! The Marathon weekend is a golden opportunity to collect tons of signatures. There will be thousands of people in the park, most of them standing around waiting. But if we're going to take advantage of this, we need a lot of volunteers to hold signs and clipboards and collect signatures. Let me know by reply to this message whether you are available either Saturday or Sunday (11/3 and 11/4) and at what times. Why do we need more signatures if we have 22,000 already and mayoral frontrunner Mark Green says he intends to get cars out of the park? As we all know, it's possible for candidates to say one thing when they're running and to do something else entirely once they're elected if they think no one will notice or if they fear political flak. On the other hand, thousands upon thousands of people supporting a cause are hard to ignore politically, and the more the better. That's why it's critical that we demonstrate as much support for a car-free park as we possibly can. This is our moment. Let's not squander it. Ken Coughlin October 20, 2001: Call the Parks Dept.! Due to Marathon preparations, the West Drive is now closed to vehicular traffic from 90th Street and Central Park West to 59th Street and 7th Avenue until Wednesday, November 7 at 6:00 a.m. The 72nd Street “transverse” will remain open for regular hours but all traffic must exit the park at 72nd Street and Central Park West. As is the case every year, drivers call the Parks Department enraged that their road has been taken away from them, if only temporarily. This fuels the belief that terrible things will happen if the drive is permanently closed to traffic. That's why it's so important that the Parks Department hear from those of us who appreciate the drive being closed. Please call 1-800-201-PARK (7275) and tell them how wonderful it is to have a car-free West Drive, even for a week. This is important, and it only takes a minute. Once again, we will be gathering petition signatures near Tavern on the Green during Marathon weekend, either on Saturday or Sunday, or both, depending on the response from volunteers. So far, we haven't heard from many people. If you can come for an hour or two on either day, please reply to this message. Ken Coughlin October 11, 2001: Traffic Calming Ride and Don't Forget to Vote! Times Up will hold its last Central Park traffic calming ride of the season tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 12. Riders will gather at 6 pm at the 6th Ave. and 59th Street entrance to the park. If you're a Democrat, don't forget to vote in today's runoff! To recap, both Fernando Ferrer and Mark Green have expressed unequivocal support for a permanent closing of both Central and Prospect parks to traffic, but with different approaches to getting there. Ferrer favors a three-month car-free trial period for both parks as a first step towards a permanent closing to traffic. Mark Green supports “permanently closing Central Park and Prospect Park to traffic.” He would start not with a three-month trial period, but with an environmental impact study to determine measures needed to mediate any adverse impacts. “Then, the City would implement the appropriate mediation proposals and close the parks to traffic,” Green says. However, as Green has been quick to point out, Ferrer has flip-flopped on other issues, such as abortion and the death penalty. In the race for Public Advocate race, we understand that Norman Siegel supports car-free parks. His opponent, Betsy Gotbaum opposed car-free Central and Prospect Parks as David Dinkins' Parks Commissioner, although she recently signed our car-free Central Park petition. Finally, we gathered 360 petition signatures last Thursday, putting us at about 20,200 signatures to date. Ken Coughlin October 4, 2001: We're On for Tonight We'll be petitioning in the park this evening, from 5:30 until sundown, East Drive, just north of the Metropolitan Museum, at about 85th St. Come by if you can! FYI, the car-free parks issue was a topic on WNYC's On the Line yesterday. The show was taped live in Brooklyn, so the discussion focused mostly on Prospect Park, but CP was mentioned as well. Here's how Prospect Park Administrator Tupper Thomas responded to host Brian Lehrer's request for her position on cars in Prospect Park: “Obviously, a park should be as much as possible a recreational space, but there are traffic concerns, particularly during the morning rush hour that are complicated, that DOT feels might not be able to work if you closed it all of that time. But there are so many people that recreationally use the drive now, the drive in Prospect Park has become probably our most used part of the park, and that's true in Central Park as well, so this little ring of asphalt that goes around the park that was intended for carriages, now everyone and his brother is out there doing his exercises, including (incoming Brooklyn Borough President) Marty Markowitz (laughs).” Ken Coughlin September 20, 2001: Petition Campaign Suspended for Now Our last message to the Car-Free Central Park Campaign mailing list was sent on September 10. In light of the catastrophic and heartbreaking events of the following day, the Campaign now seems to pale in significance. Of the Campaign members who have been in touch with us, one appears to have lost more than 300 co-workers. Another is helping with the relief effort. We fervently hope that you and yours were unharmed. However, we are all victims in a larger sense. It seems only right, therefore, that we suspend the petition campaign in the park for the time being. The cause of returning Central Park to its rightful users remains as important as ever—-perhaps even more so as New Yorkers seek a place of peace and tranquility. But for the moment, our cause is being rightfully overshadowed by more pressing concerns. I welcome your thoughts on this. In the meantime, you can do a lot by remembering to vote on September 25. Ken Coughlin September 10, 2001: Campaign Update and Petitioning This Week The Car-Free Central Park Campaign gathered at least 1,000 signatures this past weekend, including that of one City Council member. On Saturday, we were at the Union Square rally to promote Parks 2001, which is a broad-based effort to get the city to start allocating one percent of its budget to parks. Mayoral candidates Green, Hevesi and Vallone spoke. During the rally Upper East Side City Council member Eva Moskowitz became the second City Council member to sign the petition (her Upper East Side neighbor Gifford Miller was the first). Ms. Moskowitz said that as a biker she has had some close calls with traffic in the park, and stated unequivocally that cars should be banned. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern also attended the rally, but he declined to sign the petition, saying “That would be a conflict of interest.” (Espousing other parks improvements apparently doesn't pose a similar conflict for him.) In all, we got some 200 signatures at the rally. On Sunday, we petitioned throughout the TA Century. We collected an astonishing 827 signatures at the Astoria Rest Stop, mostly due to the energetic efforts of volunteer Albert Ahronheim. Other volunteers worked the start of the Century at the crack of dawn; we haven't gotten their numbers yet. THIS WEEK: We'll be petitioning in the park this Wednesday evening, provided at least a few people can make it. If you can come, contact Albert at 212-794-2228 or aahro-@aol.com ; The location will likely be Engineer's Gate on the East Side. If we get a quorum, we'll post the details to the list. Finally, the New York Civil Liberties Union tells us that Parks Department officials say they will take immediate steps to inform enforcement personnel that individuals are free to collect petition signatures in public parks. (Stop the presses!) We don't know what form those steps will take, but the NYCLU is asking that the Parks Dept. issue a written directive to personnel. If such a directive is issued, we'll get a copy and start carrying it with us. Don't forget to vote!!! Ken Coughlin September 6, 2001: Candidates' Positions on Car-Free Central Parks Below is an abbreviated version of an article written by campaign member Frank Todisco that is being distributed to various running, cycling and blading groups in the city regarding the mayoral and other candidates' positions on cars in our parks. Don't forget we'll be petitioning in the park tonight (Thursday), 6:00 pm, West Drive at about 85th St. Ken Coughlin Election Bulletin: Candidates' Positions on Car-Free Central and Prospect Parks By Frank Todisco For the first time in at least a generation, mayoral candidates in New York City are taking stands on the presence of cars in Central and Prospect Parks. We report herein the major mayoral candidates' positions to date (9/6/01), in advance of the primary elections on Tuesday, September 11 (and runoffs, if necessary, on Tuesday, September 25). We also report on three other races where we have knowledge of some of the candidates' positions. As of this writing, the four major Democratic candidates for mayor have taken positions on cars in the parks; the two major Republicans, Michael Bloomberg and Herman Badillo, have not yet responded to inquiries. In a questionnaire from the Sierra Club, the candidates were asked specifically if they would “support the removal of cars from Prospect and Central Parks or, at the very least, support a three-month car-free trial period for both parks.” The positions of the four Democrats are as follows: Alan Hevesi – would not commit to supporting a three-month car-free trial period; “would explore the possibility of removing and/or limiting vehicular traffic within these parks.” Peter Vallone – supports a three-month car-free trial period for both parks, in order to “determine what the best long-term practice should be.” Fernando Ferrer – supports a three-month car-free trial period for both parks, as a first step towards a permanent closing to traffic. Mark Green – supports “permanently closing Central Park and Prospect Park to traffic.” He would start not with a three-month trial period, but with an Environmental Impact Study to determine measures needed to mediate any adverse impacts. “Then, the City would implement the appropriate mediation proposals and close the parks to traffic.” Only Ferrer and Green have expressed unequivocal support for a permanent closing – but with different approaches to getting there. Which is more promising, a three-month car-free trial period or an Environmental Impact Study? An EIS can be susceptible to challenges and delays, but the “success” of a trial closing can be challenged as well. Green is the candidate who has given car-free parks the highest profile. In the most recent televised debate (August 28, Channel 11), in response to a question about transportation, Green said “we need car-free Central and Prospect Park”; the other candidates did not mention the issue. In the race for Public Advocate, Betsy Gotbaum opposed car-free Central and Prospect Parks as David Dinkins' Parks Commissioner, while both Steve DiBrienza and Scott Stringer have long been supporters of getting the cars out. In City Council District 6, bordering Central Park on the Upper West Side, three of the candidates – Larry Sauer, Gale Brewer, and Anna Lewis – have come out in support of a three-month car-free trial period for both parks. In the race for Brooklyn Borough President, Ken Fisher and Janette Gadsen have both called for a car-free Prospect Park, while Marty Markowitz is opposed. Don't forget to vote Tuesday, September 11! September 4, 2001: Petitioning This Week and Weekend Report We will be petitioning in the park this Thursday on the West Drive just south of the 86th Street transverse, next to the path that leads to the north end of the Great Lawn. The days are growing shorter (sigh) so we'll start at 6 and should be done by 7:45 or so. We now have upwards of 18,000 signatures. It was an eventful Labor Day weekend. We gathered a total of 500 signatures on two separate days. However, petitioning on Sunday was cut short when Parks Department employees ordered us to stop, claiming that we were engaging in “solicitation,” which is against Parks Dept. rules. (“No person shall solicit money or other property from persons unknown to [them]. . .”.) They apparently consider signatures to be “property.” We have referred the case to an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, who assures us that we have a First Amendment right to petition in the park. He is taking the matter up with the City, and our position is so strong that we expect this harassment to end shortly. We petitioned again on Monday evening and had no problems, but be forewarned that we may again be ordered to stop. Our stance at this point is that we will get names and badge numbers of anyone attempting to stop us, as well as the name of the individual's supervisor, but ultimately we will suspend petitioning for the evening if forced to do so. At this point, we don't plan on making a test case by getting arrested because we are so certain that Parks officials will back off once they are apprised of the strength of our legal position. The Parks Dept. tried this several years ago; we're not sure why they've started up again. Could it be that they sense we're getting closer to our goal? Come out Thursday and exercise your free speech rights. Ken Coughlin August 29, 2001: Central Park Campaign Hits Prime Time For those who missed it (including me), in last night's mayoral debate Mark Green came right out in favor of car-free Central and Prospect Parks. He was responding to a reporter's question about transportation in the city. The other candidates also responded to the question, but none mentioned car-free parks. At the end of this e-mail is the question and Green's response. The full debate transcript can be found at http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/debate.2.html We also understand that Gale Brewer, a candidate for Ronnie Eldridge's Upper West Side City Council seat, is sending around a questionnaire to district residents asking, among other things, whether they favor a car-free Central Park. She says many people are asking her about getting cars out of the park. She has told me that she favors a three-month trial closing of the park to cars, as does her main opponent, Anna Lewis. Also, don't forget that we'll be petitioning in the park today (if you get this on Thursday), Aug. 30, 6 pm, West Drive, just north of Tavern on the Green (Tavern on the Mark Green?) Ken Coughlin Here's the excerpt from the debate: JIM WATKINS (Channel 11): . . . traffic congestion is one quality of life issue that even the current administration has had very little success addressing. What are your short and long-term plans to make it easier to get around the city by car, and to reduce congestion and gridlock particularly in Manhattan? PUBLIC ADVOCATE MARK GREEN: Your question reminds me of the Yogi Berra aphorism, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded." And that's true in our streets. There are small and large ideas. The small ideas, in '94 I started pushing for many more red-light cameras which can ticket people as they speed through a red light to deter speeding. We need car free Central and Prospect Park. We need low-tech mitigating ideas like speed bumps along Queens Boulevard; high-tech ideas like value or congestion metering, so if cars want to park in the middle of the day when it is expensive, they'll think twice. The big idea, more public transit, less private transit. And I've been pushing, if Tokyo and London can have a new subway system, why can't we after 60 years? The number one goal, a Second Avenue subway from the Bronx through Manhattan into Brooklyn." August 7, 2001: See Today's New York Times! Front and center in today's Times' Letters section is a wonderful letter calling on the mayoral candidates to support car-free Central and Prospect Parks. Check it out; the timing and placement of the letter couldn't be better (and a great illustration as well). Thank you, Barbara C. Coffey, wherever you are! And thanks to the Times Letters editors. Can an editorial on the subject be far behind? Once again, we'll be petitioning in the park tonight starting at 6:15, just down the hill from the Delacorte Theater on the West Drive, at about 81st Street. We'll be in the shade of the trees and there's a water fountain outside the Delacorte, but you might want to bring water anyway! Ken Coughlin July 20, 2001: Campaign Update We gathered 250 petition signatures in the park yesterday evening. As usual, the response was great, with many signers thanking us for campaigning and asking about the chances for a car-free park. (One passerby accused us of being "tyrannical" but didn't stop to explain this interesting perspective.) On the mayoral campaign front, one of the members of this list attended a mayoral function the other night where he asked candidate Hevesi if he supported a car-free Central Park. Hevesi reportedly replied, "Not completely. We have to consider traffic patterns and rush hour." He went on to say that he thinks that some more car free hours in Central Park are possible and a car-free Prospect Park is very possible. Hevesi has backed away from his earlier stated support of a three-month trial closing of Central Park to cars. July 18, 2001: Petitioning Tomorrow (Thursday) We will be petitioning in the park tomorrow (Thursday) on the West Drive, just north of Tavern on the Green, starting at 6:30 pm. The weather promises to be gorgeous--please come join us if you can. We just learned that at a recent forum, mayoral candidate Mark Green began his remarks by highlighting his support for a car-free Central Park and Prospect Park. See you in the park! Ken Coughlin |