by John G15 The [new] downtown code calls out for a paseo downtown just north of Van Buren, west of Central. Now adding some sort of incentive to foster this development would likely be needed as a means to ignite the idea.

by Joe B8 We don't need cars on every single street.
Cars enabled sprawl which lead to downtown being abandoned.
If cars are the cause of what happened, then they should not be welcomed back.
they should be removed.
Church Street is a huge success in Burlington Vermont and it has east west cross traffic, just no north/south traffic.
Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Montreal, Vancouver, Davis, Boulder, Minneapolis.
those are leading cities that Phoenix should carefully study.
let's try it.
if it doesn't work than we can reopen the street to cars.
Fear of failure is not a valid reason not to try.
and when it does work, then we look like geniuses.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/05/uncertain-legacy-americas-pedestrian-malls/1929/

by Ardyce E I recognize that a ped mall makes a dramatic impact, but i think it's more practical to do just one side of a street.

by Will Novak Most pedestrian malls in the country have been since retrofitted to add auto traffic back into them. For every pedestrian mall that worked out, there were 10 that failed. Business need people, on foot, on bikes, in cars, going by to help support them.

I don't know that PHX has a street that would make a good Ped mall, I'd be very cautious about a plan like this.

by Bob D3 Domestically, Lincoln Road, South Beach [Miami] seems to be very successful, as does the much newer Broadway/Times Square in Manhattan. I have a very different take on Fulton Mall [Brooklyn] and 3rd Street Promenade [Santa Monica] - which could be discounted as quibbling perhaps.
However, each one already was a significant destination before becoming car free.
Roosevelt Street between Central Ave and 6th Street seems to be the only place outside a mall that is a sufficient destination for being car-free - but only one night a month.
On the other hand, we could manufacture an outdoor mall like Universal City Walk or The Grove. There's Tempe Marketplace that could act a a model for that sort of thing.

by Ardyce E I'd expand this to include all of the city. It might also work on Central south of Camelback or south of Indian School, On McDowell where the pedestrian overpass was recently installed, or at the Orpheum .

by David M26 Make sure the city requires it be developed with shade.