No, I'm saying there is a balance struck between pedestrian mobility and vehicle mobility in NY. Personally I would prefer to see almost all streets in Manhattan below 110th to be shut down to vehicle traffic, but I know I would never get my way.
Even without the fear of death, a lot of people don't want to cut in front of a car and get honked at and flipped off. But if you see that it is just an empty self driving car, with no human present to get mad at you, the calculus changes as to whether you cut it off or not. And that can have cascading consequences for average vehicle speed.
I like to think of the shuttle bus operators at my old university between classes. Just inching along as the sea of people slowly part in front and behind you. Ebb and flow.
Even without the fear of death, a lot of people don't want to cut in front of a car and get honked at and flipped off. But if you see that it is just an empty self driving car, with no human present to get mad at you, the calculus changes as to whether you cut it off or not. And that can have cascading consequences for average vehicle speed.