According to the New York City Economic Development Council, only about 46% of New York City households even own a car. The rest of us are simple bipeds, relying on our sturdy yet stylish sneakers to get around.
New York City might be uniquely pedestrian-friendly for a U.S. city, but walking remains difficult to quantify. Fortunately, the quant-friendly folks in NYC government have been counting pedestrians -- yes, literally counting them by hand -- at 114 selected locations, twice a year, since 2007. The data is publicly available through the Department of Transportation.
The 114 locations were selected by the DoT to represent strong "commercial corridors," which is somewhat vague. While this does not make for robust statistical analysis, it does allow for interesting comparisons -- particularly across time.
It appears that Manhattan has by far the most pedestrian activity. This is no great surprise, as Manhattan is the city's densest borough, as well as the its professional hub. It is important to note that 70 of the 114 locations selected by the DoT for this study are in Manhattan. So while the high pedestrian activity in Manhattan squares with what we would expect, this is not a terribly interesting takeaway considering the DoT's questionable data collection methods.
We can examine how pedestrian counts have varied in Manhattan between different times of day (data is collected in the morning, midday, and at night).
Has this changed over time?
Data is collected in May and September. Are there noticable differences between walking rates in Manhattan in those months?
Pedestrians counted morning, midday and night in May 2015
Taking in the views means playing limbo with selfie sticks and weaving between sweat-through 'I ♥ NY' shirts. In fact, the crowds there have become so unpleasant that according to the New York Times, the Department of Transportation has decided to explore some [pretty expensive] ways to ease congestion. Which begs the question:
Brooklyn was once a touristic afterthought, perhaps even an area to be avoided. But over the years, it has become globally synonymous with hipster culture and laid-back cool, making it a popular destination in its own right. And as any guidebook will tell you, the best way to see the borough is to start with its 150-year-old eponymous bridge.
Does that mark a turning point in Brooklyn mania? TBD
Pedestrian counts, measured from the midpoint of the Brooklyn Bridge twice a year from 2007-2015
Maps would be nice -- I'm still trying to figure out how to get them to work.