Powering through a lunchtime run by himself on Friday, John Hendy was excited by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement minutes earlier that cars would be banned from Central Park’s scenic drives starting in June.

“You’re always looking out. Am I going to get hit?” said Mr. Hendy, 57, who works in information technology for a financial services firm on Madison Avenue.

Mr. de Blasio said he had parkgoers like Mr. Hendy in mind when he made the decision to close the drives below 72nd Street to vehicles beginning on June 27, the day after public schools close. Those drives are currently open to traffic during limited hours.

“This park was not built for automobiles,” Mr. de Blasio said during the announcement Friday in Central Park. “It was built for people.”