Broadway Closed Permanently in New York City

NEW YORK – After a trial run that began last spring, a section of Broadway in New York City will remain permanently closed to traffic.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that after the experimental closings around Times Square the city had decided to keep the street as a pedestrian walkway, the New York Times reported.

The city created pedestrian plazas on the two closed stretches of Broadway last year, in part because traffic engineers said the closings would help reduce pollution, increase safety and improve traffic flow.

Bloomberg acknowledged that the closing did not reduce traffic congestion as much as the city had hoped, the Times reported.

However, the closing has been positively reviewed by pedestrians and tourists, the mayor said.

In order to accommodate businesses in the closed area, new delivery plans were put in place last year that allow trucks to unload on side streets.