Thursday, November 26, 2009

Times Square project forces parade rerouting

From CBS880:

It won't be just the balloons, marching bands and floats on display in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The laws of physics will also be on parade.

For the first time in its more than 80-year history, the parade route is bypassing Broadway, which cuts a diagonal slice through Manhattan, as it makes its way south from the Upper West Side to the finish at Macy's flagship store in Herald Square.

Instead, participants will use a new route, one that traverses the grid of the city's streets and avenues, includes turns around five corners, and is slightly longer than in previous years.

The demands of the new route will challenge the marching bands and handlers of the parade's signature balloons, for whom precision is key, said Brian Schwartz, physics professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

"There really is a lot of science" to it, he said.

"If they're taking a new route, they're going to have to be really careful in the turning of the corners," he said.

The new 2.65-mile route came about because parts of Broadway have been closed to vehicular traffic, making it off limits to floats this year.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

DONNY OSMOND ROCKS......

the oldest winner of "dancing with the stars"last night.

he and kim rate a spot at Macy'S Herald Square today.

they won with a 1950's cha cha cha, and a great Broadway dance free style routine.

some old men have the moves.

member of "swing dance society of n.y."

Anonymous said...

It sound like Bloomberg mucked up another tradition. This parade is the single greatest way to show off to the world, the heart of Manhattan which in the past is Bway - Times Square & Herald Square.

So because Bloomberg want to control car traffic - the pedestrian walkways on Bway now interfere with the parade route. What other tradition does Boston raised Bloomberg want to destroy in our town?

Anonymous said...

"It sound like Bloomberg mucked up another tradition. This parade is the single greatest way to show off to the world, the heart of Manhattan which in the past is Bway - Times Square & Herald Square.

So because Bloomberg want to control car traffic - the pedestrian walkways on Bway now interfere with the parade route. What other tradition does Boston raised Bloomberg want to destroy in our town?"

Double ditto. This rerouting is a disgrace.

Gary the Agnostic said...

The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again. No way that the gang at DOT thought of this when they hatched this scam.

Anonymous said...

No big deal. The parade route's been different before. And the benefits of reducing traffic congestion around Times Square and increasing space for people definitely outweighs any imagined downside.

Hope they expand pedestrian space next year!

B. Humbug said...

Bloomturd = Grinch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Why don't they just turn down 6th from 59th? It would save 2 turns.

Anonymous said...

re: NO BIG DEAL.....my company has the n.y.c. contract for all the cement and benches that block broadway. the city council dems are in my pocket,as usual.

Anonymous said...

my wife was D.O.T. commissioner when the cement blockage of the manhattan avenues was decided.

Sen.(dem.)Chuckie(if it is Sunday,it is (Shumer).

BTW,she is prepping for a high payer at C.U.N.Y. that is where the Obama stimulus will pay off big time soon.