On an amazing market street filled with patisseries, fromageries and boucheries, nothing made me happier, or feel more Parisienne, than meandering up and down the pedestrian blocks, inhaling the irresistible smells of roasting chickens, stinky cheeses and warm, yeasty baguettes.
Over a 22-hour period, his staff members clocked: 741 instances of pedestrians blocking bike lanes; more than 275 vehicles blocking bike lanes, including a school bus and pedicabs; 331 cyclists going the wrong way; 237 cyclists running red lights; and 42 cyclists riding on sidewalks.
A pedestrian bridge blocked most of the field from view.
This pedestrian-only block, buffered by the frozen expanse of the East River, must surely be the safest in New York — and that turns out to be appropriate, because the food at Riverpark is similarly devoid of risk.
Instead there's a home-run contest, starring a bunch of buffed Neanderthals (otherwise known as hitters) swinging not so much for the fences but for the pedestrians a block away from the park.
Even in clement weather they trudged to a stretch of fast-food joints in a pedestrian mall blocks away, or else snagged a plastic-wrapped sandwich and a cup of soup from a newsstand in the basement of the State House.
Something interrupts the flow of pedestrians — a blocked exit, say, while an escalator continues to feed people into a closed-off space.
There are myriad quieter pleasures to this walkable city as well: verdant city parks, pedestrian-only blocks, and hotels and restaurants that pride themselves on family-friendly service.
The recommendations, by the consulting firm of Konheim & Ketcham, include eliminating on-street parking to create a bus lane, relocating bus stops, lengthening walk signals for pedestrians, enforcing block-the-box rules and removing illegally placed street vendors.
At that point in the narrative, the walking couple walks past the car, which is stationary because a crowd of pedestrians has blocked the street.
