New York City

=== Streets and highways ===
{{Further|List of bridges and tunnels in New York City|Commissioners' Plan of 1811}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
[[File:Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges on the East River, New York City, 1981.jpg|thumb|The [[Manhattan Bridge]] and [[Brooklyn Bridge]] on the [[East River]]]]

Streets are also a defining feature of the city. The [[Commissioners' Plan of 1811]] greatly influenced its physical development. New York City has an extensive web of [[freeway]]s and [[parkway]]s, which link the city's boroughs to each other and to [[North Jersey]], Westchester County, Long Island, and southwestern [[Connecticut]] through [[Bridges and tunnels in New York City|bridges and tunnels]]. Because these highways serve millions of outer borough and suburban residents who [[Commuting|commute]] into Manhattan, it is common for motorists to be stranded for hours in [[traffic congestion]] that are a daily occurrence, particularly during [[rush hour]].<ref>{{cite news |url = https://ny.curbed.com/2019/8/15/20807470/nyc-streets-dot-mobility-report-congestion |title = New York City's streets are 'more congested than ever': report |first1 = Amy |last1 = Plitt |first2 = Valeria |last2 = Ricciulli |work = [[Curbed]] |date = August 15, 2019 |access-date = January 16, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url = https://www.crainsnewyork.com/op-ed/solving-citys-traffic-nightmares |title = Solving the city's traffic nightmares |first = Jason M. |last = Barr |work = [[Crain Communications]] |date = September 5, 2019 |access-date = January 16, 2022 }}</ref> [[Congestion pricing in New York City]] was approved in March 2024 and is expected to enter into force in mid-June if lawsuits will not overturn it.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Hu | first1=Winnie | last2=Ley | first2=Ana | title=NYC Congestion Pricing and Tolls: What to Know and What's Next | website=The New York Times | date=March 27, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/nyregion/nyc-congestion-pricing-tolls-mta.html | access-date=March 27, 2024|postscript=none}}; {{cite web | last1=Siff | first1=Andrew | last2=Millman | first2=Jennifer | title=MTA board OKs congestion pricing plan, paving way for $15 tolls (and up) starting this summer | website=NBC New York | date=March 27, 2024 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/traffic/transit-traffic/congestion-pricing-nyc-mta-vote/5264500/?amp=1 | access-date=March 27, 2024}}</ref>

Unlike the rest of the United States, New York State prohibits right or left turns at red traffic signals in cities with a population greater than one million, to reduce traffic collisions and increase pedestrian safety. In New York City, therefore, all [[Turn on red|turns at red lights]] are illegal unless a sign permitting such maneuvers is present.<ref>{{cite web |title = Chapter 4: Traffic Control |date = November 25, 2013 |url = https://dmv.ny.gov/about-dmv/chapter-4-traffic-control-2 |publisher = [[New York State Department of Motor Vehicles]] |access-date = January 16, 2022 }}</ref>
[[File:GWBfromFortLeeHistoricPark.JPG|thumb|The [[George Washington Bridge]], across the [[Hudson River]], is the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge.<ref name="gwbridge">{{cite web |title = Port Authority of New York and New Jersey—George Washington Bridge |url = https://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/en/george-washington-bridge.html |publisher = [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]] |access-date = January 16, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="gwbridgepainters">{{cite news |first1 = Bod |last1 = Woodruff |first2 = Lana |last2 = Zak |first3 = Stephanie |last3 = Wash |date = November 20, 2012 |title = GW Bridge Painters: Dangerous Job on Top of the World's Busiest Bridge |url = https://abcnews.go.com/US/george-washington-bridge-painters-dangerous-job-top-worlds/story?id=17771877 |work = [[ABC News]] |access-date = January 16, 2022 }}</ref>]]

Manhattan and Staten Island are primarily coterminous with islands of the same names, while Queens and Brooklyn are at the west end of the larger Long Island, and the Bronx is on New York State's mainland. Manhattan Island is linked to New York City's outer boroughs and to New Jersey by an extensive network of bridges and tunnels. The 14-lane [[George Washington Bridge]], connecting Manhattan to New Jersey across the Hudson River, is the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge.<ref name="gwbridge" /><ref name="gwbridgepainters" /> The [[Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge]], spanning [[the Narrows]] between Brooklyn and Staten Island, is the longest [[suspension bridge]] in the Americas and one of the world's longest.<ref name="infoplease.com">{{cite web |title = Longest Suspension Bridges in the World |url = http://www.infoplease.com/toptens/worldsuspbridges.html |access-date = September 7, 2012 |publisher = Pearson Education }}</ref><ref name="Verrazano-Narrows Bridge">{{cite web |title = Verrazano-Narrows Bridge |url = http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/verrazano-narrows/ |access-date = September 7, 2012 |publisher = Eastern Roads }}</ref> The [[Brooklyn Bridge]], with its stone neo-Gothic suspension towers, is an icon of the city itself; opened in 1883, it was the first steel-wire suspension bridge and was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1903.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-12/ Today in History – June 12: Roebling and the Brooklyn Bridge], [[Library of Congress]]. Accessed July 30, 2023. "The Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling's last and greatest achievement, spans New York's East River to connect Manhattan with Brooklyn. When completed in 1883, the bridge, with its massive stone towers and a main span of 1,595.5 feet between them, was by far the longest suspension bridge in the world."</ref><ref>[https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/williamsburg-bridge Williamsburg Bridge], [[American Society of Civil Engineers]]. Accessed July 30, 2023. "When opened in 1903, the 1,600 foot long main span of the Williamsburg Bridge was the world's longest suspension span, surpassing the nearby Brooklyn Bridge by only 4.5 feet."</ref> The [[Queensboro Bridge]] "was the longest [[Cantilever bridge|cantilever span]] in North America" from 1909 to 1917.<ref>[https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/queensboro-bridge Queensboro Bridge], [[American Society of Civil Engineers]]. Accessed July 30, 2023. "The Queensboro Bridge was the longest cantilever span in North America (1,182 feet) from 1909 until the Quebec Bridge opened in 1917 and the longest in the United States until 1930."</ref> The [[Manhattan Bridge]], opened in 1909, "is considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges," and its design "served as the model for the major long-span suspension bridges" of the early 20th century.<ref>[https://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/manhattan-bridge Manhattan Bridge], [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] Metropolitan Section. Accessed July 30, 2023. "As the first suspension bridge to use the deflection theory, it is considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges and served as the model for the major long-span suspension bridges built in the first half of the twentieth century."</ref> The [[Throgs Neck Bridge]] and [[Whitestone Bridge]] connect Queens and the Bronx, while the [[Triborough Bridge]] connects the three boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.

[[File:Lincoln_Manh_portal_9-38_jeh.JPG|thumb|[[Lincoln Tunnel]]]]
The [[Lincoln Tunnel]], which carries 120,000 vehicles a day under the Hudson River between New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan, is the busiest vehicular tunnel in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title = Lincoln Tunnel Historic Overview |url = http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/lincoln/ |access-date = August 13, 2014 |publisher = Eastern Roads }}</ref> The tunnel was built instead of a bridge to allow unfettered passage of large passenger and [[cargo ship]]s that sailed through New York Harbor and up the Hudson River to Manhattan's piers. The [[Holland Tunnel]], connecting Lower Manhattan to [[Jersey City, New Jersey]], was the first mechanically ventilated vehicular tunnel when it opened in 1927.<ref>[http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/holland/ Holland Tunnel (I-78)]. Nycroads.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Holland Tunnel |url = http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2176&ResourceType=Structure |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140629011542/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2176&ResourceType=Structure |archive-date = June 29, 2014 |access-date = August 13, 2014 |work = National Historic Landmark Quicklinks |publisher = [[National Park Service]] }}</ref> The [[Queens–Midtown Tunnel]], built to relieve congestion on the bridges connecting Manhattan with Queens and Brooklyn, was the largest non-federal project in its time when it was completed in 1940.<ref>{{cite web |title = Queens-Midtown Tunnel Historic Overview |url = http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/queens-midtown/ |access-date = August 13, 2014 |publisher = Eastern Roads }}</ref> The [[Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel]] (officially known as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel) is the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America and runs underneath [[Battery Park]], connecting the [[Financial District, Manhattan|Financial District]] in Lower Manhattan to [[Red Hook, Brooklyn|Red Hook]] in Brooklyn.<ref>[https://new.mta.info/bridges-and-tunnels/about/hugh-l-carey-tunnel Hugh L. Carey Tunnel], [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], updated July 10, 2023. Accessed January 16, 2024. "When the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel) opened in 1950, it was the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America. It still is.... On the Brooklyn side is the community of South Brooklyn, comprising the Red Hook, Columbia Terrace, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill districts.... The Manhattan end of the tunnel leads to the Wall Street area, the South Street Seaport, City Hall/Civic Center, Battery Park City, the World Trade Center site, and the World Financial Center."</ref>