Editing Central Park (section)

===Scenic drives===
[[File:Taxis routes Central Park.JPG|thumb|upright=1|alt=A Center Drive intersection with four cars stopped at a cross road|Center Drive in Central Park]]
The park has three scenic drives that travel through it vertically.<ref name="central-park-map"/> They have multiple traffic lights at the intersections with pedestrian paths, although there are some [[List of arches and bridges in Central Park|arches and bridges]] where pedestrian and drive traffic can cross without intersection.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1974|p=6 (PDF p. 7)}}<ref name="Reed 1990"/>{{sfn|Heckscher|2008|pp=45–46}} To discourage park patrons from speeding, the designers incorporated extensive curves in the park drives.{{sfn|Rosenzweig|Blackmar|1992|pp=244–246}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/nyregion/deaths-expose-chaos-of-central-parks-loop.html |title=Deaths Expose Chaos of Central Park's Loop|last=Goodman|first=J. David|date=September 28, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 13, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328213832/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/nyregion/deaths-expose-chaos-of-central-parks-loop.html|archive-date=March 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The drives range from {{convert|22|to|42|ft}} wide, and there are more than 50 traffic signals along these drives.<ref name="Barron t309" />

{{Anchor|List of drives}} {{vanchor|West Drive}} is the westernmost of the park's three vertical "drives". The road, which carries southbound bicycle and horse-carriage traffic, winds through the western part of Central Park, connecting Lenox Avenue/Central Park North with Seventh Avenue/Central Park South and Central Drive.<ref name="central-park-map"/>

{{vanchor|Center Drive}} (also known as the "Central Park Lower Loop"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2012-09-28-central-park-loop.pdf|title=Central Park Drives: Improvements for Pedestrians & Cyclists|publisher=[[New York City Department of Transportation]]|date=September 28, 2012|access-date=October 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202063834/https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2012-09-28-central-park-loop.pdf|archive-date=December 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>) connects northbound bicycle and carriage traffic from Midtown at Central Park South/Sixth Avenue to East Drive near the 66th&nbsp;Street transverse. The street generally goes east and then north, forming the bottom part of the Central Park loop. The attractions along Center Drive include Victorian Gardens, the Central Park Carousel, and the Central Park Mall.<ref name="central-park-map"/>

{{vanchor|East Drive}}, the easternmost of the three drives, connects northbound bicycle and carriage traffic from Midtown to the Upper West Side at [[Lenox Avenue]]. The street is renowned for its country scenery and free concerts. It generally straddles the east side of the park along Fifth Avenue. The drive passes by the Central Park Zoo around 63rd&nbsp;Street and the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 80th&nbsp;to 84th&nbsp;Streets. Unlike the rest of the drive system, which is generally serpentine, East Drive is straight between the 86th&nbsp;and 96th&nbsp;Street transverses, because it is between Fifth Avenue and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.<ref name="central-park-map"/> East Drive is known as the "Elite Carriage Parade", because it was where the carriage procession occurred at the time of the park's opening, and because only five percent of the city was able to afford the carriage. In the late 19th&nbsp;century, West and East Drives were popular places for carriage rides.{{sfn|Morris|1996|p=95}}

Two other scenic drives cross the park horizontally. Terrace Drive is at 72nd&nbsp;Street and connects West and East Drives, passing over Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. The 102nd&nbsp;Street Crossing, further north near the street of the same name, is a former carriage drive connecting West and East Drives.<ref name="central-park-map"/>

==== Modifications and closures ====
In Central Park's earliest years, the [[speed limits]] were set at {{convert|5|mph|km/h|abbr=}} for carriages and {{convert|6|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} for horses, which were later raised to {{convert|7|and|10|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} respectively. [[Commercial vehicle]]s and buses were banned from the park.{{sfn|Rosenzweig|Blackmar|1992|pp=244–246}} Automobiles became more common in Central Park during the 1900s and 1910s, and they often broke the speed limits, resulting in crashes. To increase safety, the gravel roads were paved in 1912, and the carriage speed limit was raised to {{convert|15|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} two years later. With the proliferation of cars among the middle class in the 1920s, traffic increased on the drives, to as many as eight thousand cars per hour in 1929.{{sfn|Rosenzweig|Blackmar|1992|pp=400–401}} The roads were still dangerous; in the first ten months of 1929, eight people were killed and 249 were injured in 338 separate collisions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/11/27/archives/park-safety-is-aim-of-oneway-rules-no-intention-to-make-express.html |title=Park Safety Is Aim Of One-Way Rules|date=November 27, 1929|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007040026/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/11/27/archives/park-safety-is-aim-of-oneway-rules-no-intention-to-make-express.html|archive-date=October 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 1929, the scenic drives were converted from two-way traffic to unidirectional traffic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/11/23/archives/oneway-traffic-ordered-for-central-park-new-zone-created-to-relieve.html |title=One-Way Traffic Ordered for Central Park|date=November 23, 1929|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> Further improvements were made in 1932 when forty-two traffic lights were installed along the scenic drives, and the speed limit was lowered to {{convert|25|mph|km/h}}. The signals were coordinated so that drivers could go through all of the green lights if they maintained a steady speed of {{convert|25|mph}}.{{sfn|Rosenzweig|Blackmar|1992|pp=400–401}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/04/01/archives/central-park-uses-new-traffic-lights-today-to-curb-speeding-and.html |title=Central Park Uses New Traffic Lights Today To Curb Speeding and Protect Pedestrians|date=March 1, 1932|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> The drives were experimentally closed to automotive traffic on weekends beginning in 1967, for exclusive use by pedestrians and bicyclists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/04/17/archives/new-car-ban-set-for-central-park-test-will-give-cyclists-sole-use.html |title=New Car Ban Set For Central Park|date=April 17, 1967|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007000756/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/04/17/archives/new-car-ban-set-for-central-park-test-will-give-cyclists-sole-use.html|archive-date=October 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In subsequent years, the scenic drives were closed to automotive traffic for most of the day during the summer. By 1979, the drives were only open during rush hours and late evenings during the summer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/08/archives/car-ban-a-spring-ritual-gives-park-roads-to-the-people-central-park.html |title=Car Ban, a Spring Ritual, Gives Park Roads to the People|last=Daniels|first=Lee A|date=May 8, 1979|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235427/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/08/archives/car-ban-a-spring-ritual-gives-park-roads-to-the-people-central-park.html|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Legislation was proposed in October 2014 to conduct a study to make the park car-free in summer 2015.<ref name="ABC-Car-free-2018"/> In 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the permanent closure of West and East Drives north of 72nd&nbsp;Street to vehicular traffic as it was proven that closing the roads did not adversely impact traffic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150618/upper-west-side/central-park-will-be-permamently-car-free-above-72nd-street-mayor-says|title=Central Park Will Be Permanently Car-Free Above 72nd Street, Mayor Says|last=Frost|first=Emily|date=June 18, 2015|work=[[DNAinfo]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928151120/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150618/upper-west-side/central-park-will-be-permamently-car-free-above-72nd-street-mayor-says|archive-date=September 28, 2015|access-date=June 22, 2016}}</ref> After most of the Central Park loop drives were closed to vehicular traffic, the city performed a follow-up study. The city found that West Drive was open for two hours during the morning [[rush hour|rush period]] and was used by an average of 1,050 vehicles a day, while East Drive was open 12&nbsp;hours a day and was used by an average of 3,400 vehicles daily.<ref name="Mays 2018">{{cite news|first=Jeffery C.|last=Mays|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/nyregion/central-park-car-ban.html |title=Central Park's Scenic Drives Will Soon Be Car-Free|date=April 20, 2018|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708221307/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/nyregion/central-park-car-ban.html|archive-date=July 8, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, all cars were banned from East Drive in January 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos|title=At last, Prospect Park is permanently car-free|last=Plitt|first=Amy|date=January 2, 2018|publisher=Curbed NY|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235234/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2018, de Blasio announced that the entirety of the three loop drives would be closed permanently to traffic.<ref name="Mays 2018"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-centralpark/new-york-banning-cars-from-central-park-starting-this-summer-idUSKBN1HR2SJ|title=New York banning cars from Central Park starting this summer|last=Cherelus|first=Gina|date=April 20, 2018|publisher=[[Reuters]] U.S.|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235118/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-centralpark/new-york-banning-cars-from-central-park-starting-this-summer-idUSKBN1HR2SJ|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The closure became effective in June 2018.<ref name="Walker 2018"/><ref name="ABC-Car-free-2018"/>

During the early 21st&nbsp;century, there were numerous collisions in Central Park involving cyclists. The 2014 death of Jill Tarlov, after she was hit by a cyclist on West 63rd&nbsp;Street, called attention to the issue.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Santora|first=Marc|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/nyregion/woman-dies-after-being-struck-by-central-park-cyclist.html |title=Woman Hit by a Bicyclist in Central Park Dies|date=September 22, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 25, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325175431/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/nyregion/woman-dies-after-being-struck-by-central-park-cyclist.html|archive-date=March 25, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, residents of nearby communities unsuccessfully petitioned the NYPD to increase enforcement of cycling rules within the park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gothamist.com/news/nypd-rejects-central-park-cycling-crackdown-compromise|title=NYPD Rejects Central Park Cycling Crackdown Compromise|last=Del Signore|first=John|date=March 4, 2011|work=Gothamist|access-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325175430/https://gothamist.com/news/nypd-rejects-central-park-cycling-crackdown-compromise|archive-date=March 25, 2020}}</ref> The scenic drives' pedestrian and bike paths were repaved in 2025 following repeated collisions between pedestrians and cyclists.<ref>{{cite web | last=Quigley | first=Liam | title=NYC to overhaul Central Park loop to limit conflicts between bikers, walkers and runners | website=Gothamist | date=March 6, 2025 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-to-overhaul-central-park-loop-to-limit-conflicts-between-bikers-walkers-and-runners | access-date=March 6, 2025}}</ref>