This was a Critical Mass event, which is why the bicyclists are taking up all of the street as a way to reclaim the streets and protest the lack of safety for riders under usual conditions. It’s not legal, but protests are never useful if they’re fully legal now, are they.
And why were the cars blocking the road? Just think for 2 seconds lol. Protesters not moving, means cars can’t move. Because despite what people here believe, normal people don’t just drive through people.
The irony is you quoted the answer:
Congestion doesn’t happen if they move out of the way of traffic. What do you think, everyone was just stopping to wave at them?
But lemme get a few more, just to make it clear.
During a protest on northbound I-5 in downtown Seattle, an ambulance transporting a critically ill 37-year-old man was delayed due to protesters blocking the highway. Medics reported being stuck in a standstill for about a mile. A Washington State Patrol trooper assisted in creating a lane for the ambulance to reach the hospital. The incident resulted in a 19-minute delay in reaching Harborview Medical Center.
Source: KOMO News https://komonews.com/news/local/downtown-protest-on-i-5-blocks-ambulance-carrying-patient-in-critical-condition-seattle-downtown-washington-state-patrol-harborview
Protesters blocked an ambulance outside the St. Petersburg Police Headquarters. The ambulance, which was not on an emergency call, had to reroute due to the demonstration. Police released video footage showing the incident.
Source: EMS1 https://www.ems1.com/protests/articles/video-controversy-stirred-after-protesters-block-fla-ambulance-ERIDfzTYNPzkC3U2
Just Stop Oil protesters blocked emergency vehicles during a demonstration in west London. Videos showed both a fire engine and an ambulance with blue lights unable to get through traffic. The Metropolitan Police arrested 28 protesters for “wilful obstruction of the highway.”
Source: The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/just-stop-oil-block-ambulance-b2200208.html
Approximately 100–200 protesters blocked a highway, delaying an ambulance carrying a critically ill patient. Due to the delay, EMTs had to perform an emergency medical procedure in the ambulance instead of at the hospital.
Source: FOX61 https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/outreach/awareness-months/hundreds-of-protestors-in-new-haven-block-ambulance-carrying-critically-ill-patient-1-arrested/520-cde15049-3446-4039-814a-7505edc43498