NYC’s Times Square is healthier and cleaner

Pedestrian Plaza has helped

Marci Gilbert, Apr 20, 11.

Last week New York City Mayor Bloomberg announced the results of an air quality study that documented substantial air quality improvement in Times Square a year after the creation of a pedestrian plaza. Concentrations of traffic-related pollutants were substantially lower than measurements from the year before, and were less than in other midtown locations.

“We created pedestrian plazas right in the heart of our city to straighten out some of the chokepoints in our street grid and to help traffic flow more smoothly and quickly through Midtown,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We also expected that by reducing the numbers of vehicles in and around Times Square, we would also improve the area’s air quality, and that’s exactly what the numbers now show.”