Mayor Bloomberg plans to announce that stretches of Broadway between 42nd and 47th Streets and 32nd and 35th Streets will be turned into pedestrian plazas, full of benches and plantings. Less sidewalk congestion, more open space, and the city claims that traffic congestion will actually decrease — what’s the downside? Well, one dude who works nearby told the Post that he’d probably stay away from the pedestrian areas because they would be “full of tourists.” That’s a good point. It would be pretty unfortunate if Times Square were overtaken by tourists. [NYP]
