Taking Back the Streets

With congestion pricing a no-go, New Yorkers might want to look at the innovations of city dwellers in other locales. For instance, the Woonerf, or “living streets” found in Copenhagen, where certain streets are traffic-free, i.e. just for pedestrians. Then there are the Swaled Streets in Seattle, which replace some of the customery asphalt with landscaping. In addition to looking nice and attracting birds, swaled streets cost 20 percent less and cut storm water runoff
by 99 percent. For more great ideas, see Jeff Byles Sunday, April 8 NYT article Taking Back the Streets

For more information and pictures see: Seattle's Green Streets