Jen Bekman's Unbeige has the scoop on a proposal to transform 42nd Street (presently clogged with both tourists and traffic) into a truly grand boulevard, complete with light-rail service from river to river. Wouldn't that be gorgeous?
It reminds me of two things: (a) Riding the streetcar down St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans when I lived there (it's always charming, but not quite as cute in that endearingly anachronistic way when you're in hurry. Although: the experience was so special - with the tall, wide windows and the unmistakable sound of gears grinding and wheels on trolley tracks - that I categorically remember more of those mundane-at-the-time trips than I do any others in my life); and (b) The Meir, in Antwerp, which is an impossibly long, stately pedestrian-only street that winds through the city and is lined with gloriously revived architectural gems and some of the best shopping I've ever encountered. Oh, and the trolley that runs down Market St. (not the ones that are mostly for tourists, the distinction being that I actually want to get somewhere rather than ride around aimlessly) in San Francisco (where I'll be in 48 hours, and counting) is memorable, too.
I'm a little past that wide-eyed stage of thinking of New York as a visionary city, but it's a brilliant concept.
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