Pedestrian-Only Malls Failing, Opening Back Up to Cars

Tod Newcombe reports on pedestrian-only malls like Buffalo's, which after 25 years has been so unsuccessful that they want to turn it back into a road. So why are these ped malls failing?

1 minute read

December 3, 2011, 1:00 PM PST

By Tim Halbur

Newcombe explains that many of these early pedestrian-only malls were "ill-planned and had little purpose":

"Because so few people lived downtown, the malls became lifeless after work, attracting crime and loiterers, rather than large crowds. According to some estimates, of all the pedestrian malls that have dotted American cities in past years, fewer than 15 percent remain today."

That doesn't mean that ped-only malls can't work, says Newcombe.

FULL STORY: The Trouble with Pedestrian Malls

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 in Governing Magazine

Land Use United States Pedestrian-Only Streets

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