I live downtown & moved to the area about 2.5 years ago. Can someone answer what happened to the boulevards down Washington Ave.? In old photographs I can see they had a strip of pavement or something down the middle as is often seen in Europe. A perfect place for park benches and pedestrian enjoyment, safely buffered from traffic by trees.

What happened? The boulevards are still there, but with trees planted down the middle, making them awkward for pedestrians to enjoy...when and why was this change made? Were there other pedestrian friendly boulevards in the city [[between Campus Martius and the river along Woodward, for ex)? Is there any talk restoring the boulevards as part of Gilbert's new vision?

This has me baffled & someone on here probably has the answer.

Here's a pic:

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...al-gallery.jpg

Thanks! And sorry if this has been discussed before, I searched and didn't find anything.