The “Great White Way” may become the great walkway. New York City plans to close several blocks of Broadway to vehicle traffic, as an experiment.

From Times Square to Herald Square, it’s an experiment to reduce traffic congestion in Midtown. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to announce a plan Thursday morning that will shut down large chunks of Broadway to ease the overall traffic flow while turning parts of the Great White Way into a pedestrian mall.

The mayor’s dream, according to published reports, would be to close Broadway from 42nd to 47th streets and put chairs, benches and cafe tables where taxis and trucks usually go. The mayor’s vision would resemble last summer’s Broadway Boulevard Project below 42nd Street, which is still in effect.

Under the new plan, traffic below 42nd Street would return again for seven blocks until Herald Square, where it would be shut down for two blocks from 33rd to 35th Street. Below 33rd, it would open up again.

It’s the latest attempt to make city streets friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists, a spokesperson to the mayor said. Last year’s summer’s streets project, which closed parts of Park Avenue on three Saturday mornings, was a big hit with some New Yorkers.

(Source: WCBSTV)