An Earth Day event cleared several of the city's congested streets of cars on Saturday — offering pedestrians the run of the roads.
Outdoor performances, walking tours and arts and crafts stations replaced taxi cabs and delivery trucks during the second year of Car Free NYC.
Cars were barred from Broadway between Union Square and Times Square, and St. Nicholas Ave. from 181st to 190th Sts. for six honkless hours.
"It's nice, even though it doesn't affect the traffic too much, it still feels nice as a pedestrian," said Elliot Smith, a software engineer who lives in Manhattan and was strolling down Broadway with a friend.
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He takes public transportation but his friend, Alexa, lives on Long Island and normally drives a car.
"Personally I think that driving is a necessary evil," she said. "So this is pretty awesome because it encourages people to roller blade or bike instead of drive."
Near Union Square, a group of dedicated fitness enthusiasts braved a light rain shower for a workout organized by Paragon Sports.
Meredith Dwyer, a stay at home mom, was out walking with her husband and two children.
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"I think it's great. Everyone is so active and it makes me feel like spring is here," she said. "We're on our way to Union Square Park and it's pretty cool that we can walk in the street with our stroller."
City officials touted the popular program.
Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez and other city officials came out to Flatiron Plaza on 23rd St. to mark the car-free occasion.
"Our message today is just reminding people what we should be doing together to reduce emissions to combat climate change," Trottenberg said.
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"Even here in Midtown Manhattan we do care about the Earth," she added. "Imagine a city where people are walking and biking and have good alternatives to get out of their car. I talk to a lot of New Yorkers who drive out of necessity who would love to have an alternative."
Rodriguez, the Council Transportation Committee chairman, launched Car Free NYC last year.
"For me this is about creating the conditions for those New Yorkers that live in isolated communities to have better access to our buses and trains so that they can switch from being car owners to only relying on public transportation," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says about 1.2 million New Yorkers use cars in the city. He wants to reduce that number to 1 million by 2030.
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Jim Gallagher, an IT specialist from Queens, was played ping pong in Flatiron Plaza, one of the many activities set up by the DOT.
"I usually drive a car so I can see it's probably a nightmare for all the cars that have to avoid Broadway today," he said during a quick break.
"But it's nice that the city is doing this. The more people that are out walking, the less congestion we'll have I guess."
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