The City of New York turns the famous Times Square into a car-free zone, spanning from the Theater District down to the Madison Square (about 10 city blocks). I think it's an awesome idea. Anyone who has been to 42nd and Broadway knows well the vicious elbowing and jostling contest as one battles to get through the teeming hordes of tourists and locals. And to step out into the street unwarily means inviting certain gruesome death as the unruly yellow cabs speed by menacingly. But now it feels liberated to be able to walk the streets in mid-town Manhattan without the fear of untimely demise. It's about time that NYC follows other major cities around the world by reducing car traffic into the city and reclaiming sections of the urban center for pedestrians and cyclists.
It got me thinking if the same thing can be done in my beloved KL. First question is which parts of KL can be made into a car-free zone? Bintang Walk first comes to mind, I guess. If I'm the Datuk Bandar of KL I'd close off the whole Bukit Bintang area from The Pavillion down to Jalan Pudu and from Jalan Imbi to Jalan Raja Chulan. Let's organize street carnivals, ethnic food fest, bazaars and souks, etc. The possibilities are limitless. Another part of KL that can be closed off is the Masjid India area. A small L-shaped section around Wisma Yakin has already been closed off to cars but I think the whole area needs to be car-free. Extend the current pedestrian-only section in-front of Wisma Yakin all the way to Semua House and ban all vehicles from entering the side streets between Jalan Masjid India and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.
I'm old enough to remember when the small plaza beside Central Market used to be a bustling street filled with buses and trucks carrying sacks of rice and spices. Now people can hang out peacefully in the plaza, ogling the young and the beautiful while enjoying the shrill voice of the many buskers. But I guess I'm also old enough to remember when Times Square used to be a seedy place filled with porn shops, strip joints and 25-cent peep-shows before it got sterilized into Main Street America. Ahh, the good old days! Damn you, Giuliani!
1 comment:
nice. although at the same time, the heavy traffic is synonymous and is sort of characteristic of Times Square and also, NEw York as a whole. It is a victory for pedestrians non the less. Hopefully the new car-free Times Square will turn out to be like the piazzas and squares in Europe. Nice places to just chill and hang out.
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