Starting this Moday, June 29, 2015, all cars will now be banned above 72nd Street at all times. These changes are the latest in a series of twists and turns since the decision in 1966 by Mayor Lindsay and Parks Commissioner Thomas Hoving to close all Central Park drives on weekends. The New York Times published an article, that discusses how when the park was originally designed, it was the intention of the park’s creators, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, for the main roads to be used for vehicles, the dirt bridlepaths for horsemen and the rambling roads for the rest.
Times have changed along with how people use the park, and Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a written statement: "Our city needs places where kids can run around safely, where people can jog or go for a walk after a long day of work and not have cars racing by five feet away.”
Read more from the original article here.