section_path: Transportation/Streets and highways
section_name: Streets and highways
paragraph_text: Streets and highways
  
  Streets are also a defining feature of the city. New York has been found to lead the world in urban automobile traffic congestion. The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 greatly influenced its physical development. New York City has an extensive web of freeways and parkways, which link the city's boroughs to each other and to North Jersey, Westchester County, Long Island, and southwestern Connecticut through bridges and tunnels. Because these highways serve millions of outer borough and suburban residents who commute into Manhattan, it is common for motorists to be stranded for hours in dense traffic congestion that is a daily occurrence, particularly during rush hour. Congestion pricing in New York City, first such program in the nation, was activated in January 2025, applying to most motor vehicular traffic using the area of Manhattan south of 60th Street, in an effort to encourage commuters to use rapid transit instead. Unlike the rest of the country, New York State prohibits turns on red lights in cities with a population greater than one million, to reduce collisions and increase pedestrian safety. In New York City, therefore, all turns on red lights are illegal unless a sign permitting such maneuvers is present.