pedestrianize

American  

[puh-des-tree-uh-nahyz] / pəˈdɛs tri əˌnaɪz /

especially British, pedestrianise

verb (used without object)

pedestrianized, pedestrianizing

1. to go on foot; walk.

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pedestrianize British  

/ pɪˈdɛstrɪəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to convert (a street) into an area for the use of pedestrians only, by excluding all motor vehicles

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Other Word Forms

• pedestrianization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pedestrianize

First recorded in 1805–15; pedestrian + -ize

Explanation

To pedestrianize is to close a street to cars and make it safer and more appealing for walking. After the city pedestrianized Main Street, there was more room for outdoor dining. When a city or town pedestrianizes an area, it takes a normal street and turns it into a car-free zone or pedestrian mall, a place where you can stroll or travel in a wheelchair without having to look both ways for speeding vehicles. The relatively new word pedestrianize takes pedestrian, from the Latin pes, or "foot," and adds -ize, a suffix that's useful for turning a noun into a verb.

Example Sentences

At this point, you may be thinking: Is this the best way to decide whether or not to permanently pedestrianize one-and-a-half miles of road in a park?

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2022

But we can do a lot more than pedestrianize roads.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2020

In Paris, Mayor Hidalgo described her effort to pedestrianize major arteries as an “almost philosophical project, which consists of seeing the city in another way than through the use of cars.”

From New York Times • Dec. 10, 2016

Lawmakers voted the following day to pedestrianize the Seine's right bank, permanently closing a major traffic artery.

From Reuters • Sep. 27, 2016

But if he would pedestrianize everywhere, London remained the walking ground of his heart.

From Life of Charles Dickens by Marzials, Frank T. (Frank Thomas)