Central Park Road Closing?
 

When I first got back in the saddle this past June, I checked the weekday CP road closings... it seemed the west side was closed only in the mornings, most of the east side in the afternoon, and a big stretch from CP South to 72nd always open during the day. Funny, I thought years ago it was closed all the way during the weekdays (like 10-3).

So I thought I should check again, who knows, maybe after Labor Day they open it up all the time except weekends... so NOW I see it IS closed 10-3 for the whole loop on weekdays.

This makes no sense to me... why have more car traffic on those roads during the summer?

Am I missing something?

BTW, decided to grab a few loops today before I veg into football, oh what a BAD idea. They had some run going on... that wasn't the issue, the organizers clearly felt 1/2 the road should be available as they had many sections roped down the middle of the road. All the pedestrian paths were empty because HUGE crowds took over the entire width of the road, especially on the east drive. No wonder I saw more bikes going the wrong way on the west drive, I think they were fleeing!! Lots of a-holes running the wrong way (and trust me, I'd give a free pass to someone supporting the cause and wearing a bib or t-shirt) and giving us dirty looks.

"Excuse me" and my saying "on your right" fell on deaf ears, those jerks could care less. However, the crowds seemed to listen to a very pretty young girl, so I ended up right behind her... all the while honing my 2 mph skills (I did very good at that). Soon as I could, I powered around her so she had a blocker (my Fuzzy Thurston leading Pauil Horning around right end thing)!

just did 4 laps tonight through there...7 pm - 8:30 pm --- nice leisurely ride

no traffic, no pedestrians, a few bikes and a few runners

such a great time to ride

as far as I know...West drive is open in the AM, East in the PM...i wish they would just closr the whole damn thing down (posted this on other CP road work thread)...

I don't bother in prime time on the weekends...it's a nightmare and dangerous

Today was Race For The Cure. It's that time of year when there's some sort of event in CP every weekend. I can't get too worked up over it; it's all for charity.

According to the NYC Bike Map Central Park Car Freehours are as follows:

All Weekends

Weekdays:
West Drive and 72nd Street Cross Drive: All hours except 8-10 am
West Drive north of 72nd Street: All hours except 3 - 7 pm
Center Drive/East Drive south of 72nd Street: All hours except 7 am - 7pm

There was a time when the mayor would extend summer car-free hours, like a gift. That doesn't seem to have happened this year.

they need to close the cp loop to all cars, rickshaw's, and horse carriages. The horses and cars destroy the road and the rickshaw's feel it's necessary to all camp at w72nd entrance looking for tourist money and ride 3 across side by side.

Yes I know that... but go check the web site (centralpark.com)... they says it's closed every weekday, 10 to 3.

"Below are some of our most frequently asked questions:

Central Park covers 843 acres, which is 6% of Manhattan.
Its hours of operation are from 6:00 am until 1:00 am.

The Park stretches from Central Park South (59th St.) to 110th St. at the northern end and from 5th Ave. on the East Side to Central Park West (8th Ave.) on the West Side.

The Park Drive is closed to vehicular traffic - Weekdays: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 7:00 am.
Weekends: 7:00 pm Friday – 7:00 am Monday
Holidays: 7:00 pm the night before – 7:00 am the day after.
Speed limit 25 mph"

I had found the split hours listed on this website, but now it's saying the above. I'm looking for why, at the end of the summer, the hours were seemingly changed. I DID come across something from last year about how the drives were ALL open to cars weekdays between 7 AM and 7 PM starting in November.

That site (centralpark.com) is not an official site for the park, and its info is completely out of date. Stacy's info is correct.