Pedestrians in New York City can expect to see even less traffic in some neighborhoods in the near future.
That’s because the City is moving to shut down at least 40 miles of streets over the next month, announced the mayor on April 27. But it doesn’t end there. He said the plan is to eventually convert 100 miles of asphalt into “Safe Streets” to help people socially distance throughout the summer.
“And the way we will do it, we’re gonna focus first on streets in and around our parks,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Very concerned about the streets on the outside of parks that often times we’re seeing that immediate area getting really crowded.”
A press release from the City Council says that besides street closures, Safe Streets would include sidewalk widening and additional bike lanes. It added that “communities hardest hit by the pandemic” would be worked on the most.
“And as I said, there’s gonna be a real focus on the communities that have been hardest hit,” said de Blasio. “Every community in New York City has some kind of place for recreation … so it makes sense to focus there.”
The City saw its lowest number of new cases of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Virus, which causes COVID-19, since March. The numbers have been on a steep decline since April 22.
Data from the City shows 1,625 new cases on April 24, compared to the all-time high of over 6,000 reported cases in early April. The most recent number is less than 25, but the website advises that recent data are incomplete due to “delays in reporting.
The City said these Open Streets would be in effect throughout New York’s shut down.
