Congestion and Traffic Pollution has been a major problem in New York for years. Numerous laws, tolls and fines have been implemented over the past decades to try to solve the problem. Yet congestion still exists. Congestion occurs when there is overcrowding on the roads which causes traffic jams. There are several reasons for the severity of this problem. Traffic jams cause many delays in the city. People are unlikely to be on time for anything, even if they have planned their trip in advance. With city traffic as it is, we can't blame them. The indirect effect of congestion is traffic pollution. Road pollution is environmental pollution caused by toxins and harmful gases emitted by cars. The amount of pollution generated by cars in the city poses an immediate health risk to all its residents. This is an ongoing problem that New Yorkers face and one that I believe can be remedied with the cooperation of city officials. Several factors complicate the problem of road pollution and traffic congestion in the city. The first and perhaps most important factor is the number of cars in the city. The reason there are so many cars is that New York City is overdeveloped with commercial businesses; which means too many companies have offices located in Manhattan. There are too many cars and too few roads. A second major cause of traffic problems in the city is traffic jams. Gridlock is defined as the inability to move on a transportation network. The traffic that results from me getting stuck in the middle of the intersection is called a traffic jam. A third major cause is one-way streets. One-way streets force people to take an excessive number of trips to get to their destination. This in effect causes increased pollution because...... middle of paper...... there is already a shortage of parking spaces. Pollution and traffic congestion are a major problem in New York. This has been and will continue to be a problem until someone steps up once and for all and takes matters into their own hands. Although some argue that it is impossible to implement plans and tolls to reduce the number of cars on New York's roads, I personally believe that it is possible. The pessimism of opponents and critics is exactly why the city is experiencing pollution and congestion problems today. Each person has a responsibility to do what they can to try to resolve the problem. If that means taking the train, take the train. If that means taking the subway, take the subway. As they say in therapy, New Yorkers need to admit they have a problem too. Firstly, if not dealt with quickly and properly, it will have disastrous consequences for future generations...