Sorry, NYC drivers: A month of nasty 'gridlock days' starts this week

It's beginning to look a lot like ... traffic.

Christmas isn't quite here (no matter what your favorite big box store says), but gridlock season doesn't do us the courtesy of waiting for the holidays to get in gear.

Wednesday kicks off a month of some of the slowest traffic of the year for New York City drivers, according to the city Department of Transportation. Only the annual visit of the United Nations in the fall is considered worse.

The city has designated 15 of the days between Nov. 20 and Dec. 19 "gridlock alert days" — essentially half the month. And Midtown speeds are already the slowest on average that they've been since records started being kept, according to a report released in September by Sam Schwartz, a former traffic commissioner. His findings say Midtown speeds averaged 4.8 miles per hour in the fiscal year that ended this summer — 20% slower than a decade ago.

Schwartz, the person most frequently credited with popularizing the term "gridlock," is a longtime proponent of "congestion pricing" — a version of which Gov. Kathy Hochul revived last week after previously putting it on an "indefinite pause." State officials estimate congestion pricing, at the $9 base charge, will reduce traffic in the busiest parts of Manhattan by at least 10%.

At least for now, we're stuck with gridlock warnings on the following days: Nov 20-22, Nov. 26, Dec. 3-6, Dec. 10-13, and Dec. 17-19.

"Whether traveling for work, errands or recreation, please consider walking, biking or taking public transportation whenever possible," the city asked in an advisory about the coming gridlock days.

You may also want to keep an eye on the city's weekly and weekend traffic advisories for road closures and special events that may make traffic even slower.