...They'll build the coolest urban park you've ever seen. The city may have lost the bid for the Summer 2012 Olympic games, but that didn't stop anyone from showing off just how cool the winter games could've been (or could be—who knows what the future holds) if the event had taken place on the densely-populated island. The New York Times took a stab at superimposing Olympic-level venues on the Big Apple, with courses spanning tourist destinations and lesser-known landmarks alike.

From alpine in Central Park to icing over Broadway, the Times has considered every detail, right down to the measurements, and it should go without saying that the bobsled/luge/skeleton track in Times Square is a major upgrade from the temporary toboggan run that was there just last month for Super Bowl Boulevard. Think of it as a glorified version of an elevated train track—maybe we could turn it into a park after the games, à la the High Line.

Here are the Times' proposals for Times Square, Bryant Park, Central Park and a 5K stretch of Broadway

Luge, bobsled and skeleton tracks weaving through Times Square

Luge, Bobsled and Skeleton, Times Square "Racers might begin their starting sprints 40 stories up and several blocks north of Times Square for the run down the city's own version of the Sanki Sliding Center's track, finishing in a big turn on the plaza in front of the Armed Services Recruiting Center."

All photos by Angel Franco and Richard Perry // Bryant-Park-gone-ski-jump

Ski Jumping, Bryant Park "The New York Public Library and Bryant Park provide a surfeit of air rights, and scaffolding repurposed from the Fashion Week tent could support the jumps and starting box. Competitors could finish with a breathtaking hockey stop just short of Sixth Avenue, spraying snow and scattering pigeons."

Forgoing driving lanes for speed skaters

Speedskating, Broadway "The trickle of traffic that now uses Broadway south of Times Square would hardly be inconvenienced by the installation of a long ice sheet for the 5,000-meter speedskating between Madison Square Park and Battery Park."

Check out the full story from the New York Times here.