Innovative Intersection Design for Reclaiming Space

Broadway entering Time Square had an odd crossing that resulted in some significant challenges to traffic through the district. Part of making the area more livable and more successful for pedestrians was simplifying the intersection. It also increased the accessibility for bicycles. In this picture, on-street parking was added in the middle of the street to separate the cycletrack from the auto traffic.
I arrived near 5:30 PM and it was clear that there were more pedestrians than any other traffic in a period that one might think you'd see heavy auto traffic. My brief analysis would suggest that the reclaiming of street for parking and bicycle use in this case and simplifying the downstream intersections which were traditionally many of the most congested in the City, let alone the country.
Again, the City was willing to take a risk to implement refuge islands to shadow the pedestrians and the parking. Probably an important element in the City as opposed to a less agressive community of drivers like we have in Portland.