I found this New York Times article on sidewalk congestion in Times Square especially interesting, because I wade through this sea of people every morning on my way to work. Lots of interesting tidbits here. For example, current laws on sidewalk vendors date back to the Civil War, "when the state entitled disabled veterans to use almost any sidewalk to sell their wares." And: "In a worse case, [a consulting group] found 6,959 people walking in the street from 8:30 a.m. to midnight on Oct. 25 in front of the Virgin Music Megastore on Seventh Avenue between 45th Street and 46th Street." Yeah, tell me about it. This was the highlight, though:

The sidewalks of Times Square are also impeded by stationary groups of smokers outside their office buildings, massive concrete planters on the sidewalks designed to block suicide bombers and screeching crowds of teenagers who gather below a second-story window of the MTV studios.

I'd always wondered why those planters were there. Makes you feel safe, doesn't it?