Traffic in NYC - Key Facts, Figures, Issues and their Solutions

Second and third are good places to rank, but when we are talking about traffic congestions on the streets, they surely are not where you want your city to be. Yes, New York City comes third among the top traffic congested cities of the world. Among the cities of the US, it is second. These survey results help us picture the ordeal New Yorkers have to go through during the peak travel hours and sometimes even at other times also.

Traffic and Parking

A reality check of 2017 revealed New York is home to four of the ten highly congested corridors of the US and also that drivers in NY spent 91 hours being stuck in traffic. Putting it in other words, 13 percent of their time is spent sitting inside their cars in congested roads. 11 percent of this is contributed by daytime traffic.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin , ‘time is money’ -

Lost hour and fuel usage in 2016 put a financial encumbrance of $17 billion on New York City’s economy.

This loss of time and fuel also translate as financial losses for individual drivers as well.

The causes of congestion on the streets are increase in the population of the city, increase in the number of cars, limited space on the streets, surging demand and of course, cars navigating the roads, looking for parking in NYC as well as illegally parked cars.

What can be done?

Controlling the increasing population of humans and cars on the road will take time and involve long term measures; likewise, the solutions for increasing the limited street space and meeting the increase in demand cannot be implemented overnight.

As of now, the easiest way to curb and reduce traffic in the NYC streets is to take parking off the streets and use spots in off-street locations.

There are parking apps that list down off-street and legal parking spots to help clear up congested roads and improve traffic in the streets of New York City. These mobile apps list down available parking space that could be someone’s driveway, garage, street-side or porch. Motorists can choose spots based on their requirements and needs, book and drive up to their chosen spot to park there.

An example of one such app providing off-street parking solutions in New York City is Parken. This particular parking app can also be used by individuals to register their space for parking seekers to book. It can prove to be a good source for some side income, especially if you stay in certain busy areas.

With Governer Cuomo contemplating a congestion charge to raise funds and make improvements, coupled with the other state-implemented reforms underway, we are keeping our fingers crossed for the next scorecard issued by INRIX for NYC’s traffic.