Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Should NYC Bring Back the Barnes Dance?
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Aug 14, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Aug 14, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
All too often, we read (and write) about horrible instances of traffic fatalities when motor vehicles fail to yield to pedestrians with the right of way. There used to be a simple solution to this problem, and it was known as the Barnes Dance. Although NYC traffic commissioner Henry Barnes didn't invent the concept, it became named after him in the 1960s by a City Hall reporter named John Buchanan.
The Barnes Dance involved red lights to vehicular traffic in every direction at an intersection, at which time pedestrians were free to cross in any manner they wanted, including diagonally, without having to fear being hit by a car or truck coming from any direction. They exist in traffic systems around the world.
A major shortcoming of the Barnes Dance is that it slows traffic by including a third element of stopped flow: It stopped East-West traffic, stopped North-South traffic, and then stopped all traffic as pedestrians have the complete right of way. It is certainly a pedestrian-friendly measure, and Barnes was a traffic commissioner who knew that the city was about more than getting cars from point A to point B as quickly as possible. He was Robert Moses' foe, who eventually scuttled plans for the Lower Manhattan Expressway.
Critics of the Barnes Dance say that it reduces vehicular capacity of roadways and creates what traffic engineers call lost time. Defenders say that some of that lost time is made up by not having right- or left-turning vehicles back up traffic while waiting for crossing pedestrians who have the right of way. The heart of the issue is how a city defines its priorities: pedestrian safety or motor vehicle capacity.
Mayor Bloomberg is certainly no stranger to innovative or controversial stances when it comes to New York City traffic. Now that the U.S. Department of Transportation has agreed to give $353 million to help NYC investigate congestion pricing, maybe bringing back the Barnes Dance to NYC should be an addendum to PlanNYC.
(Photo of a Barnes Dance pedestrian crossing in Baltimore, MD from the Maryland Historical Society)
Tagged
baltimore
bloomberg
city
City hall
congestion
dance
department of transportation
Historical Society
lower manhattan
manhattan
maryland
mayor
mayor bloomberg
new york
new york city
News: NYC
nyc
pedestrian
robert moses
safety
the city
traffic
transportation
Dave Hogarty
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .