Cars to be Prohibited on All Central Park Loop Drives
The announcement joins a previous ban on cars above 72nd Street and hourly rules south of 72nd.
The city will amend traffic restrictions in Central Park beginning in June 2018.
This will impact the meandering "loop drives" where, during certain hours, vehicles are permitted to drive alongside the bicyclists, joggers, and roller-bladers. The two-lane sunken transverse drives will still allow drivers to cross the park at 97th, 86th, 79th, and 65th Street.
Other roads in Central Park north of 72nd Street have been closed to traffic since June 2015.
This follows a similar plan where Prospect Park went car-free after a test to see what impact closing the park drives would have on the traffic surrounding the park.
In addition, ABC7 reports that the city will move horse-drawn carriages completely inside the park and prevent those vehicles from mingling with traffic around the southern end of Central Park. This has not yet been officially announced, and may come at a later time.
Watch the full press conference below:
