Counterintuitive, but true: Reducing lanes improves traffic flow

It’s easy to make the assumption that if you reduce the number of lanes on busy roads that you’ll get greater congestion. It’s harder to comprehend that the reality can be quite the opposite.

In New York, a city notorious for high levels of traffic congestion, an experiment with car-free squares on Broadway (not what you would call low-traffic or a side-street) has had a very positive impact on traffic flow, in addition to the expected benefits to pedestrians and cyclists.

What is also impressive is how quickly a relatively simple and inexpensive realignment of roadways can transform things.

This short video from Streetfilms really highlights the positive impact of road closures for almost everyone affected.


closures, street closures, public space, traffic, roads, urban, transportation, car-free, pedestrian.