Horse cart traffic in New York City in 1890 moved faster than automobile traffic there today.
You sure of that?
Horse cart traffic in New York City was extremely productive, though. It produced the Great Horse Manure Crisis.
In New York in 1900, the population of 100,000 horses produced nearly 1,200 metric tons of horse manure per day, which all had to be swept up and disposed of. In addition, each horse produces nearly a litre of urine per day, which also ended up on the streets.
Horse cart traffic in NYC had the potential to move faster than today’s cars. But the photos I’ve seen show it as at least as congested as today, and them horsies weren’t going anywhere fast.