New York taxi and skyscraper. Photo: CC:BY. Photo: Joe Thwaites
An Englishman in New York
Joe Thwaites sends us his Eye-view
Some of what you hear about America is true. Things are big.
The cars are big. Ridiculously big, very shiny and a deep black, and with shaded out windows, of course. They are imposing monstrosities. In most British cities, the number of pedestrians attempting to cross a road can force the flow of traffic to stop for them whether it’s their right of way or not. In New York, there are plenty of pedestrians too, but none dares to try their luck. The traffic moves at such speeds (particularly taxis) that you have to be sure that there’s a ‘walk’ sign alight or that you can see a good few blocks down the road that nothing’s coming. Mike Bloomberg, mayor of New York, proposed a congestion charging system for downtown Manhattan similar to London’s, but it was dropped before it even got to a vote. This is a place where the car rules.
