Not alone anymore (but maybe it was better that way)

I just finished reading an article in The New Yorker online talking about changing perceptions toward cyclists in New York.  I learned something along the way, and thought I'd pass it along.

Mayor John Lindsay may not have done well against JFK in a presidential bid (but who could've--the man stole America's heart), but he did wonders in New York City for cyclists (among others).

Perhaps his most lasting act was to forbid automobile traffic in Central Park on the weekend.

To those of you who have moved to New York since, can you imagine what Central Park would be like on the weekend with cars?

Newark, NJ has a comparable park to Central Park (designed by Frederick Olmstead as well, I'm told) called Branch Brook Park.  It is incredible.  Heaven knows I've gone riding there enough times with enough friends.  The only problem is that all of the pedestrians for both directions of traffic are crowded onto a little path not much wider than a single sidewalk, while cars cutting through (and I'll admit, there are very few of them on the loop) swing dangerously close.

I imagine Branch Brook Park without cars on the weekend (and it isn't hard, when the police are paid the park is closed to cars for the famous Cherry Blossom Cycling Challenge) and think of  another perfect haven for cyclists (why Branch Brook Park cut out an eighth of their velodrome, I'll never understand).

Regardless, without the action of people like Lindsay, the City would be a very different place for cyclists.  Malcolm might even call that act the tipping point that has made New York into what it is today: a veritable haven for city cyclists.

Hats off to you Mayor Lindsay--the White House wouldn't have suited you anyway.