New York City announced this weekend that it would close four roadway entrances to Central Park and further restrict the hours when cars are allowed to use the park’s loop drive. Where cars now have access to the drive from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m., in 2005 cars will be banned overnight and during morning hours before 7 a.m. They will be permitted on weekdays only from 7-10 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. The rules change makes car access to Central Park more the exception than the norm, while the closure of road entrances at West 77^th and West 90^th Streets and East 90^th and 102^nd Streets continues the slow but steady pace of de-paving the New York City’s most famous green space. The changes are good moves by the NYC transportation and parks departments and a big victory for Transportation Alternatives, which has campaigned for a car-free park for over a decade.

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