A study released today by Transportation Alternatives allays fears that extending car-free hours in Central Park would add to Harlem's traffic. The report, titled Harlem's Traffic Magnet (PDF), details how the Central Park loop drive entrances on 110th street at Malcolm X Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard act as traffic magnets, pulling drivers off the FDR, the Harlem River Drive and the West Side Highway and onto neighborhood streets north of Central Park.

• 57% of private cars entering the park through Harlem originate outside Manhattan
• Private cars, not taxicabs, constitute the solid majority of traffic on the loop drive

Much of the traffic clogging Harlem streets only enters the neighborhood because the Park drive is open to cars. This is consistent with NYC DOT's own findings that predict at least 3,107 private vehicles would be removed from Harlem streets each week during the morning commute if the drive was closed to car traffic. Armed with this information, T.A. and more than 100,000 Car-Free Central Park Campaign supporters call on the Mayor and City Hall to support a three month car-free trial in the park this summer.

"Closing Central Park will not increase traffic in Harlem, but may reduce congestion and air pollution. The city should implement a three-month trial of a car-free Central Park," says Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. "This action has the potential to achieve real and immediate benefits for our city, and to send an unequivocal message that New York City is serious about achieving its green priorities."

"Research by both the City and T.A. confirm that instituting a three-month car-free trial in Central Park would bring Harlem much-needed traffic relief," says Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. "Again and again, we've seen that increasing car-free hours in the park eases traffic in the area and provides a safer, healthier park for everyone."

As an interim step, T.A. is also proposing car-free Fridays in Central Park this summer, to provide more time for recreation on the loop drive at a time when park use is at its highest. The full study is available for download at:

transalt.org/files/newsroom/reports/harlem_traffic_magnet.pdf

###