The streets are a public good and they should be for cyclists and pedestrians.
That said, IDK if it’s a resounding success. There may be measures by which it is, I’m just not aware.
For example, I found it difficult as a pedestrian and saw a few collisions and lots of near misses between bikes and pedestrians. The planters create a nice protected area which feels like it’s safe for walking and crossing. But the bikes were moving quickly and quite unyielding in their perceived right-of-way.
When we were there, there was definitely other challenges. There were terrible traffic jams - especially going into the city. It seems like a lot of traffic needs to go through the city to get somewhere else. It didn’t seem like they had adequate public transportation.
Makes snowplowing a mess. NYC can’t just shutdown like Vancouver does every time it snows :)
I don't think it's a big deal because we don't really get a lot of snow in NYC. A plan to improve the 50 weeks a year without snow on the ground is better than not doing the plan because a couple weeks in February will be miserable.
http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/12/ultimate-bike-lane-snow...
The Pacific moderates a lot better than the Atlantic!
I live a block away from this area, and it's completely transformed the neighborhood. It's much safer to walk across 14th st. There are many shops in the area that seem to be getting more foot traffic (no data behind this). There are more people congregating around the bench/sitting areas around 14th street.