Who’s On Your Streets? Data Shows Up To 88% of Drivers in Some Neighborhoods Are Only Cutting Through
Open Plans Sees Low Traffic Neighborhoods as Cure for Cut-Through Driving
NEW YORK, NY—Cut-through driving on residential streets—meaning trips that do not begin or end in the area—accounts for the vast majority of driving in many places across the city, an analysis by Open Plans reveals. In the highest, Council District 10 in Manhattan, 88% of cars on the road are not going to or coming from a business or resident in the district. Only six Council Districts have less than a 50% rate of cut-through driving.
New York City’s street grid encourages cut-through driving; apps like Waze and Google Maps, which often prompt drivers to exit a highway and cut through neighborhoods, have exacerbated the problem. Residential streets— typically too short and narrow to accommodate this type of drive—quickly become congested and chaotic.
Table: Cut-through data references a randomly selected Thursday in Spring 2024
In addition to cut-through traffic, the report finds that vehicle miles traveled, the measure of how often and how far New Yorkers are driving, has increased by 30% since 2005, the vast majority of which is by private vehicles. Across the city, this increase has created more congestion, slower bus times, chaotic streets, and poor air quality; it has an outsized effect within our residential neighborhoods, where the streets are not equipped to carry nonlocal cars longer distances. Rates of car ownership have also increased 12% in the last ten years, clogging our neighborhood’s streets and curbs.
To address this issue, Open Plans is advocating for New York City to adopt Low Traffic Neighborhoods, which discourage cut-through driving by changing the direction of some streets and creating small plazas within a section of residential blocks. These areas are still accessible by car for residents, deliveries, and emergency vehicles but become much less convenient to cut through. Low Traffic Neighborhoods help mitigate the impact of driving on local streets and have long term benefits to overall reduce driving, emissions, and traffic violence. LTNs:
Decrease traffic by 46.9% and even 1.6% on the surrounding roads.
Make streets safer: there are 50% fewer car-related casualties and up to 33% slower speeds, even on surrounding roads.
Decrease crime by 10-18%; the longer the LTN has been in place, the less crime there is.
Decrease emissions by 5.7% inside the LTN and 8.9% on surrounding roads.
Encourage active travel, which increases 25%; resulting in less sick days and improved life expectancy by 200 days.
LTNs have been implemented across the globe and are popular in many cities including London, Spain, Berlin, and Bogota. While New York City does employ some elements of LTNs, like diagonal diverters, plaza blocks, and shared streets, they do not implement these measures in a holistic way to discourage cut-through driving. Open Plans is working with local residents to identify ideal districts to pilot an LTN and pushing NYC DOT to prioritize implementation.
Data Source: Replica, data pulled 5/2/25.