City Announces 2018 Car Free Day Details

NEW YORK, NY — Two miles Manhattan streets will be shut down during this year's Car Free Day, city officials announced this week.

The Car Free Day closures will take place on a 30-block stretch of Broadway in Midtown Manhattan and a nine-block stretch of St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights, Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and City Coucilman Ydanis Rodriguez said.

The streets that are closed for Car Free Day will be dedicated to pedestrian and cyclist use, officials said. The city and various partner organizations have also organized a wide variety of activities such as fitness classes, music and dance performances and educational programs.

"By making 30 blocks on Broadway, and another nine on Saint Nicholas Avenue car free, we are giving the streets back to pedestrians and cyclists," DOT Commissioner Trottenberg said in a statement. "The abundance of fun and educational programming along the way is sure to remind everyone how important sustainability and the environment is to transportation, and our city as a whole."

Broadway will be closed between Union Square and Times Square from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and St. Nicholas Avenue will be closed between 181st Street and 190th Street from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., city officials said.

Car Free Day will take place Saturday, April 21 this year. The event was first held in 2016 and city officials are planning on it becoming an annual event, City Council transportation chair Rodriguez said Monday.

"If we are to change how we treat our planet, we must be bold. Car Free Day helps us re-imagine how we use our streets, commute, and reduce our carbon footprint by shutting down vehicular traffic on Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue," Rodriguez said in a statement. "I invite all New Yorkers to be part of this initiative to celebrate Earth Day by not driving personal vehicles that day, and think of ways we can do our part to save the planet."

Photo by New York City Department of Transportation