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Study shows congestion getting worse in Manhattan

After gaining approval from state lawmakers, New York will become the first U.S. city to levy fees on motorists who drive on some of its most congested streets. Here, traffic fills 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan in January 2018.
Drew Angerer
/
Getty Images
After gaining approval from state lawmakers, New York will become the first U.S. city to levy fees on motorists who drive on some of its most congested streets. Here, traffic fills 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan in January 2018.

A new study shows traffic in Manhattan is now the worst it's ever been with 20 percent slower average speeds than a decade ago.

According to a report by State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and “Gridlock Sam," New York is now the most congested city in the world with average Midtown speeds dropping to four-point-eight-miles per hour. The average New York City driver now spends 101 hours per year in congestion. Hoylman has suggestions to improve traffic flow.

"So we recommend congestion pricing, capping the number of for hire vehicles, like Uber and Lyft and cracking down on all those ghost plates."

The report shows over the past decade, emergency vehicle response times have gotten longer.