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B’WAY BLOOMY’S ROAD-KILL PLAN

It may be the unlikeliest spot in the city to pause for an alfresco refreshment, but pedestrians will soon be relaxing at outdoor tables in Times Square as traffic whizzes by on an expanded Seventh Avenue.

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday took the wraps off his boldest experiment yet in traffic engineering, banishing all vehicles from Broadway between 42nd and 47th streets and 33rd to 35th streets starting Memorial Day.

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Nearly 2 1/2 acres of street space would then be converted to pedestrian plazas by September in what would be one of the most dramatic changes ever undertaken on the storied street.

The mayor said computer simulations determined that motorists could zip down Seventh Avenue 17 percent faster, and 37 percent more quickly up Sixth Avenue once Broadway’s cross traffic was removed.

“Our goal is simply to give Midtown faster streets that are also, very importantly, safer and help realize our vision of making New York a less polluted and more sustainable city,” the mayor said at a press conference at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

He argued that just about anything would be an improvement over today’s infuriating bottlenecks in Midtown.

“It can’t get worse,” the mayor said. “Have you ever tried to drive down Broadway? It’s fundamentally something that you can’t do.”

The experiment is expected to cost $1.5 million.

Transportation Commissioner Jeanette Sadik-Khan, whose agency has spent a year studying mid-Manhattan traffic, predicted that the changes would unclog two of the city’s most congested crossroads.

“We think the traffic jams we see in Herald and Times Square will be a thing of the past,” she said.

Officials explained that without Broadway to worry about, traffic signals could be recalibrated from 32 to 53 seconds along Sixth Avenue at Herald Square, from 45 to 54 seconds on Seventh Avenue in Times Square, and 31 to 37 seconds on 34th Street and Sixth Avenue at Macy’s.

Sam Schwartz, transportation commissioner during the Koch administration, heartily endorsed the plan, which he recalled trying to implement in the 1980s.

“Last week on Thursday at exactly this time, it took me 10 minutes to go [by cab] from 23rd to 34th Street up Sixth Avenue. After this is put into effect, that trip will take two to three minutes,” Schwartz said.

Other transportation advocates were ecstatic.

“I’m convinced not only that it will work, but the question is can we do it elsewhere,” said Jeffrey Zupan, a senior fellow at the Regional Plan Association specializing in traffic issues.

Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives noted that there have been 562 crashes involving pedestrians and motor vehicles in Times Square between 1995 and 2005, making it one of the most dangerous stretches in the city.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer agreed, saying, “It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Bloomberg said the sidewalk expansions would go a long way toward improving pedestrian safety.

Broadway will remain open to traffic from Columbus Circle to 47th Street. But four lanes will be converted to two, with an additional turning lane.

“It’s really hard to find anyone that gets hurt by this,” the mayor insisted.

Times Square merchants were willing to give Bloomberg the benefit of the doubt, but worried about deliveries.

“Business might increase,” said Aaron Cohen, co-owner of Grand Slam, a T-shirt and souvenir shop at 46th Street and Broadway.

“It’ll be a hangout because there won’t be any traffic. The negative part is the deliveries. We are in the middle of the block and have no back entrance. It will be a nightmare.”

A spokesman for Broadway theaters said the industry could go along with the shift as long its customers weren’t hurt.

Motorists were wary, if not downright hostile, to the mayor.

“He’s nuts,” said Tom Larsen, 51, a Staten Islander who works as an air-conditioning repairman.

“He’s creating more congestion. Streets are for cars, not picnic tables. It doesn’t benefit anyone.”

Additional reporting by Perry Chiaramonte, Aliyah Shahid and Rebecca Rosenberg

david.seifman@nypost.com