We knew that the Department of Transportation had a lot of traffic cameras up around the city but until today we'd just never thought about the idea that those cameras might be available for public consumption. But oh, they so totally are. Apparently this has been around for a while but it is new to us. We just spent the past twenty minutes feeling like Big Brother as we watched traffic move around the five boroughs. Since the feeds come from the DOT the pictures are grainy (and if the wind is strong they can go out for a bit) and only cover the major roadways. So to recap, traffic cameras = surprisingly entertaining. In fact, excuse us, we're going to go watch traffic at Columbus Circle while we eat our lunch.

Update: And here's the Google Maps mashup.