Gore Park

[RePinion]

I don't think Market Street was ever the main thoroughfare for Manchester in the way that King Street is for Hamilton. English cities tend not to have "main thoroughfares" in the North American Sense. Their layouts are entirely different and tend not to rely upon "linchpin" streets. Surely Market street was indeed a major road, but it always had to compete with Deansgate, which, as a self-sustaining major avenue, tended to perform better.

That being said, your causality here is rather confused: pedestrianization did not spark the rejuvenation of Market Street; the massive reconstruction of the Arndale Centre did. If you have ever been to Manchester (I have had the pleasure of visiting once) you will see that Market Street is essentially just an outdoor extension of the Arndale. Without the success of the Arndale there would not have been a corresponding rejuvenation of Market Street and no pedestrian conversion (at least not a successful one).

Maybe if Jackson Square were to undergo a miraculous rebirth there might be some justification for your analogy between the two streets.

Again, this point is really quite petty and doesn't do much to bolster the overall argument for pedestrianization of King.