Controversial no-turn rules have now transformed some crosstown streets into speedways – at least by Midtown standards, transportation officials said yesterday.
The city Department of Transportation will release precise figures later this month, but a spokesman told The Post that driving time along 54th Street has dropped by nearly half.
It had taken 9 minutes and 20 seconds on average to traverse 54th Street during the day, said DOT spokesman Tom Cocola. Now it takes only 5 minutes and 36 seconds.
Motorists denounced the “Thru Street” experiment when it was unveiled Oct. 15 on 10 east-west Midtown blocks from Third to Sixth avenues.
But after a slight adjustment to allow turns on Park Avenue, the program has been pronounced an unqualified success.
More cars also are getting through in less time, Cocola said. Before October, 29,084 cars passed the Thru Streets on an average day. In mid-January, the number was up to 37,092.
The program was tweaked after Donald Trump complained about jam-ups from the garage in his office tower on 59th Street. That street was removed from the program.