Central Park Drives and Safety Circulation Study

Recommendation 1: A raised pedestrian path would create a sense of space for pedestrians and foster additional separation.

Today the Central Park Conservancy, NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), and NYC Parks released the Central Park Drives Safety and Circulation Study. The year-long report outlines 14 community-informed recommendations to improve safety and mobility on the Drives, the six-mile loop road at the center of the Park. The year-long study, conducted by Sam Schwartz Engineering and commissioned by the Central Park Conservancy, is deeply informed by Park user’s experiences. This includes a survey that received more than 10,000 responses, numerous public meetings, presentations to all seven Community Boards that border the Park, and stakeholder discussions. The study builds upon a previous initiative by the Prospect Park Alliance aimed at enhancing safety and access along the Prospect Park Drives. 

As part of the process, the Conservancy will undertake a study of every crossing in the Park to develop design interventions at each one. NYC DOT has committed to repaving and restriping the Drives starting in the summer 2025 with design recommendations intended to better reflect today’s myriad users. Near-term measures will include: 

• Allocating space consistently across the Drives for different user groups and piloting the use of new colors and textures on the roadbed to more clearly delineate an inner pedestrian lane. 
• Separating pedestrians better from cyclists and other higher-speed users. 
• Undertaking an analysis of every crosswalk in the Park to determine the appropriate design interventions for each one. 
• Directing pedestrians better to the historic archways to reduce conflicts on the Drives. 
• Increasing educational outreach and targeted enforcement. 
• Collaborating with City agencies to improve bike crossings within the Park, making it easier and safer for bikers to cross the Park from east to west. 

Planned changes in the medium-term will include exploring a protected, below-grade bike lane on the 86th Street transverse road and other transverse roads; replacing outdated vehicular traffic signals with more effective signals aimed explicitly at bikers and pedestrians; and working with City agencies to improve bike infrastructure on all streets surrounding the Park.

The drives are comprised of the six-mile loop road inside of Central Park. Since the banning of cars in 2018, and in part due to the COVID pandemic, the drives have experienced unprecedented use at all times of day by pedestrians, cyclists, joggers, the increasingly popular electric modes of transportation, caregivers, school groups, bird enthusiasts, and many more. The report’s recommendations, outlined below, seek to address the needs of a changing population and its usage of the Park. 

Near-term Recommendations 

1. Allocate space consistently across the Drives and pilot the use of new colors and textures on the roadbed. 
2. Better separate pedestrians from cyclists and other higher-speed users. 
3. Develop a Crosswalk Toolkit and undertake an analysis of every crosswalk in the Park. 
4. Direct pedestrians to the historic archways to reduce conflicts on the Drives. 
5. Increase educational outreach and targeted enforcement. 
6. Collaborate with City agencies to improve bike infrastructure through the Park. 

Medium-term Recommendations 

7. Remove vehicular traffic signals and replace them with more effective signals and crosswalks. 
8. Collaborate with City agencies to install or improve bike lanes on all streets and avenues surrounding the Park. 
9. Explore a robust bike lane capital improvement on the 86th Street transverse and examine the feasibility of other transverses for bike lanes. 
10. Investigate extensions of the parallel pedestrian path network to reduce crowding and conflicts in the busiest part of the Park. 
11. Develop tailored redesigns for several conflict hot spots. 
12. Establish a Pedicab Reform Working Group. 

Longer-term Recommendations 

13. Explore a raised pedestrian lane at the southern, most crowded section of the Park. 
14. Explore geometric changes at selected locations along the Drives. 

The public can review the Central Park Drives Safety & Circulation Study here.