#HTE

The (Not So) Simple Solution to Traffic, Demonstrated

A mechanical vortex of hell has been created in lower Manhattan. It’s called the intersection of Lafayette and Broome Streets, where each afternoon two traffic surges—those trying to get downtown to the East River bridges and those trying to get crosstown to the Holland Tunnel–intersect, and the box becomes so badly blocked with cars pointed in different directions that it must resemble a swastika from overhead. Horns blare, tempers flare, fingers are extended, cars go nowhere.

One cause of traffic snarls is selfish drivers. Another is human error. A third has to do with the dynamics of flow. Here YouTube content creator CGP Grey tackles the second and third (we all know we can’t do anything about the first), demonstrates how the snarls start and end, and explains the solution, which he facetiously refers to as “simple:”