Where Is All That Traffic In Manhattan Coming From?

Transportation consultants prepared an analysis of where Manhattan's traffic originates, reasons for commuting by car, and why motorists drive through Manhattan (it's not only to get to Manhattan destinations). No solutions were offered, just data.

1 minute read

January 13, 2007, 9:00 AM PST

By Irvin Dawid

"A study conducted last year for the Partnership for New York City, a business group, cited 2000 census data that showed about 35 percent of government workers in Manhattan drive to work, compared with 14 percent for those who work in finance. Kathryn S. Wylde, the president of the group, said that many city workers drive because they can park at no charge using parking placards obtained through their agencies."

"One of the most prevalent beliefs to crumble beneath the data might be called the suburban myth, the notion that suburbanites make up a majority of the commuters who drive to work in Manhattan."

"Analyzing the traffic from 19 counties in the the metro area, about 53 percent of those who drive regularly to jobs in Manhattan below 60th Street live in the 5 boroughs. 'When plotted on a map, the data make a striking picture, showing that some of the densest concentrations of auto commuters are from the outer fringes of Queens and Brooklyn, where access to subways is limited.'"

FULL STORY: In Traffic’s Jam, Who’s Driving May Be Surprising

Friday, January 12, 2007 in The New York Times

Transportation New York

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