Gridlock begone

Manhattan situation normal

Despite the number of vehicles on its streets, those who live in Manhattan often choose to drive rather than take the 24/7 subway and bus system, ferries, cycle,  or walk. And that is irrespective whether they are traveling for work, errands or recreation. Result: intermittent gridlock

The term "gridlock" had to be coined in the 1970s in New York City, meaning traffic congestion that blocks a city’s network of intersections. It was when the Manhattan core was overwhelming traffic volume which began to happen regularly in the 1980s  https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/gridlockalert.shtml

Now, the known busiest traffic days of the year in New York are designated as "Gridlock Alert Days" and the city's department of transport(DOT) pleads for New Yorkers to consider walking, biking or taking public transportation whenever possible so the number of days does not increase.

And the DOT is now taking biking much more seriously.  Biking in NYC has grown a lot in the last 15 years with ridership up 262% from 2000-2010 and growing. Around 500,000 New Yorkers are biking each month for a number of reasons. 

The City’s “cycling risk indicator” shows that the danger of serious injury has fallen 73% in that time https://brokelyn.com/5-reasons-youre-less-likely-die-biking-new-york-anything-else-new-york/

A key reason, apart from the proliferation of cycleways and lanes has been the recent introduction of a slower speed limit. It dropped from 30mph (about 50kph) to 25mph (about 40kph).