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Here's What You Need To Know About This Year's Summer Streets
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jul 4, 2013
Modified Jul 5, 2013
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Jul 4, 2013
Modified Jul 5, 2013
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Summer Streets don't kick off until the end of summer, making the event something of a misnomer. Nevertheless, it's never too soon to prepare for those select three days in August—the 3rd, 10th and 17th—in which the city will shut down nearly seven miles of road to vehicular traffic from Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, clearing the space for a fun slew of hot weather activities.
In addition to enjoying the carless road, this year's "Three Saturdays In August Streets" will contain the following amusements:
A "Voice Tunnel—described as "an interactive light and sound installation" featuring 360 spotlights and 180 audio speakers—will span the length of the Park Avenue tunnel from 33rd Street to 40th Street. The tunnel, open to pedestrians for the first time, will enable visitors to influence the brightness of the spotlights using their voices. According to a press release, "louder speech increases the lights’ brightness proportionally, creating a Morse-like code of flashes throughout the tunnel," which sounds like great fun provided that no children or drunks or madras-shorts wearing tourists are allowed to enter.
What else? This year's event features the usual 165-foot-long zip line and 25-foot tall climbing wall, as well a mini-golf course appropriately named "The “Course of Emotions.” An self-guided art walk will take pedestrians on a path past some of the city's finest public art, and a conveniently placed misting station will work to cool sweat-soaked pedestrians, hoarse from screaming into the Voice Tunnel.
Have a look at the map of events here.
Tagged
cyclists
manhattan
pedestrians
summer streets
Lauren Evans
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