here in my car

Nanny Bloomberg Taking Away Our Right to Travel Highly Inefficiently Through Midtown

NEW YORK - JULY 08: Drivers wait in traffic during the afternoon commute July 8, 2009 in New York City. High gas prices and a struggling economy have helped to slightly ease rush hour commuting with the first two-year decline in nationwide traffic congestion since the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University began studying the issue in 1982. The average motorist spent 1.3 fewer hours in traffic in 2007 than in 2005, according to the institute. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Midtown traffic jams will survive only in our memories. Photo: Mario Tama/2009 Getty Images

Although the data won’t blow you away, the city’s experiment with using high-tech algorithms to adjust stop lights in midtown to correspond with real-time traffic patterns has reportedly made an impact

>

Since the program was implemented in July 2011, average travel speed climbed in the zone from 6.5 mph to 7.2 mph between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., a 10.2 percent improvement.

On Madison Avenue, the average travel speed jumped from 6.9 mph to 7.9 mph, a 14.5 percent improvement.

The program has been deemed such a success that it’s set to expand:

The zone — outfitted with microwave sensors, dozens of traffic video cameras and E-ZPass readers to monitor movement — will expand from First to Ninth avenues, bordered by 42nd and 57th streets. Previously, it included Second to Sixth avenues.

High-Tech Traffic Program Works