Stuck in traffic on 42nd steet again? Vision42 might have a solution for you. They want to turn 42nd street into a pedestrian mall from sea to sea, served by a futuristic surface-based light rail system. They have issued reports and economic impact studies that prove (prove, mind you) that their idea will cost half-a-billion dollars and earn twice that every year in increased economic activity on 42nd street, as well as instantly providing a $3.5 billion increase in property values along the mall.
It's always nice to think out of the box, but once out you have to be careful not to fall off the table, mixaphorically speaking. Vision42 strikes me as a bad idea that shouldn't happen and most likely never will happen, but is still important to consider. Not on its own merits, but for the other ideas it brings up. New York was designed back in the days of walking and horse carts (and it still remains the most "walkingist" city in the country), but some form of autonomous personal transportation vehicle (e.g. "car") is now a part of the city and is here to stay. The worldchanging question Vision42 brings up is not "How can we get cars off of 42nd street", but "How can we make the city even more pedestrian-friendly?"
