Incredible. More people just keep driving into Manhattan - 60% in private cars - and the city just keeps letting them, as if this is an inalienable right.The majority of us get around without cars. Why should we have to cede them valuable street space? Why can't we have wider sidewalks and smoother sailing for our buses?The rationale has always been that drivers keep our economy afloat. But a new Transportation Alternatives study shows only 6% of shopping trips in Manhattan are made by car. Moreover, 90% of the people who drive to their Manhattan jobs could get there quickly and efficiently by public transit.Mayor Bloomberg may think he's a forward-looking guy, but when it comes to serving his pedestrian majority, he's way behind our rival cities, including:LONDON: King of car control! In 2003, London started charging cars about $14 a day to drive into the busiest part of the city. Oh, the grumbling.But today, almost the same number of people travel into central London, while the number of cars is down by almost a third. Hmm. Less traffic, less pollution and the same amount of commerce. Why can't we do that?PARIS: In the summer, Paris has taken to closing one of its main arteries - the equivalent of our FDR Drive - and turning it into a beach, complete with sand."Traffic is not an immutable force," says Paul White, head of Transportation Alternatives. "When faced with less space to drive and more places to walk, people will alter their behavior and walk more, drive less."Paris has also erected bus lane barriers, notes traffic consultant Bruce Schaller. These are actual curbs that keep other vehicles from sneaking into the space reserved for buses, taxis and (this is not the best part of the plan) bicyclists. Thus, Parisian buses actually travel faster than pedestrians. Imagine.LOS ANGELES: Even L.A., car capital of the Western World, is ahead of us when it comes to rethinking traffic, and in particular, parking.To cut down on the number of cars circling for parking spaces, L.A. is raising its meter fees. The higher the fee, the quicker that drivers pull out. L.A. business districts are experimenting to find the perfect price that keeps about 15% of parking spaces free at all times.These towns realize that they have kowtowed to drivers too long. They stopped. A great city like New York should be just as, well, driven.