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Pedestrian Malls, Mayoral Control Get Seal Of Approval In New Poll
By
Billy Parker
Published Jul 30, 2009
Modified Jul 30, 2009
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By
Billy Parker
Published Jul 30, 2009
Modified Jul 30, 2009
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checked in with New Yorkers on some quality of life issues that have been in the news lately. A couple months into the Broadway pedestrian mall experiment, city residents are still supportive of the mayor's initiative—though they like it best from a distance. The mayor seems to generally be in good shape on the issues asked about—New Yorkers stood behind him on control of the schools as well. The city's real enemy, not surprisingly, is the MTA. Here are some of the results from the poll taken last week:
- Despite all the lip service paid to what's wrong with the Times Square patio furniture, 58 percent of those polled think that the Broadway pedestrian malls have been a good idea with only 34 percent against it. That number jumps up to 66 percent favorability in Manahattan, the lawn chairs' back yard.
- The welcoming of the pedestrian malls doesn't mean that New Yorkers are eager to see them all over town. People were split when it came to whether more should be built and 57% said that they didn't want them in their neighborhood. Over half of those polled hadn't even been to the Broadway pedestrian malls and the borough most against them, The Bronx, also happened to be the one whose residents had visited them the least.
- New Yorkers supported the job that Mayor Bloomberg has been doing while in charge of the city's public school system and would like to see him remain in control of the schools by pretty close to two-to-one margins.
- Straphangers oppose the recent fare hikes by a whopping 70 to 25 percent of those polled. Those who think that service on subways and buses has gotten worse attribute that by a large margin to the performance of the MTA.
- Those polled don't really see any easy solutions to the agency's budget problems however. A large majority are still against both congestion pricing and adding tolls to all of the East River crossings. It's no wonder that eighty percent of those polled predicted that the Second Avenue Subway would not be completed on schedule, just days before the MTA confirmed it.
The Post notes that the high percentage of New Yorkers who stood behind mayoral control of the schools is most support Mayor Bloomberg has received on the issue. And the director of the poll summed up the results on pedestrian malls with, "Times Square with lawn chairs instead of cars is a nice idea, but...NIMBY (not in my back yard)."
Tagged
broadway pedestrian plaza
fare hikes
MTA
pedestrian malls
pedestrian plazas
quinnipiac poll
Billy Parker
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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