Spring Street Greenway

I want a Spring Street (East/West) Greenway for pedestrians, cyclists, and perhaps (we can dream, no?) even a light rail or bus lane! This would be a perfect compliment to the new bike lanes on Bleeker and Prince Streets and would solve the vexing problems pedestrians and cyclists and tourists have just 1 block south on Canal Street where car traffic from the Holland Tunnel isn't going anywhere soon. A Spring Street Greenway would provide a wonderful west-east alternative ideal for cyclists and pedestrians. There are a few reasons why this would work: 1. Spring is a wider-than average Street. There are several parking lots on Spring that are soon to be condos, and one could even give developers some parking concessions if we could reclaim the street, and ban private cars and parking from Spring. 2. Riding my bike on Spring, I rarely encounter much car traffic , since most West Side Highway traffic heads for Canal. Spring is a full 10 blocks south of Bleeker and heads straight east, so it would be a great compliment to the South-East Bleeker route. it is somewhat of an oasis (at least for now). 3. A car-free Spring w a street car up the center and a separate bike lane would be a great fit for the SoHo retail/gallery/hotel/tourism environment. 4. There’s a real spring under Spring Street that would make for a great restoration! See Egbert Viele’s classic 1865 map (@ http://www.davidrumsey.com/maps6128.html). And a natural cool spring running in a trough by the sidewalk could offer energy-free open air conditioning and cooling in summer months similar to what one finds in the German city of Freiburg, one of Jahn Gehl's favorite destinations. If you search for ”Thermal comfort in an east-west oriented street canyon in Freiburg Germany under hot summer conditions” you can find a scientific article about it, but any visitor can attest to the pleasant effects!