Manhattan to ban cars in summer

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a new scheme to make parts of Manhattan traffic-free after an earlier congestion charge plan was rebuffed.

The scheme, called Summer Streets, will run on three consecutive Saturdays in August - the 9th, 16th and 23rd.

A seven-mile (11km) route linking Brooklyn Bridge in the south to the Upper East Side will close to traffic.

In April, Mr Bloomberg's plan to ease city traffic with a congestion charge was blocked by the state's assembly.

Exercise classes, such as dance and yoga sessions, will be held along the route, which will run from Lower Manhattan to East 72nd Street, via Centre Street, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue.

Bikes will be available to rent along the route, and there will be rest areas at various points for cyclists to take on water and repair bikes.

"In the end, Summer Streets is an experiment. If it works, we'll certainly consider doing it again. If not, we won't. But we have never been afraid to try new ideas, especially the ones that have the potential to improve our quality of life," Mr Bloomberg said on Monday.

Green plans

City officials mentioned similar initiatives in Paris, where a man-made beach has been created along the French capital's River Seine for the past few summers, and in Bogota, Colombia.

Under the Ciclovia (Bikeway) scheme, one of the Colombian capital's main streets is closed to traffic on Sundays all year round and more than one million people regularly come out to walk, cycle, jog or skate.

The New York congestion charge scheme rejected in April would have charged most drivers $8 (£4) to enter the city centre between 0600 and 1800 on weekdays.

Mr Bloomberg had last year proposed copying London's strategy of easing both traffic and pollution, with a plan to invest billions of dollars in New York's public buses and underground rail system.

The congestion charging scheme was the cornerstone of his proposals to make the city greener.

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