Top 10 Worst Cities for Traffic in America, along with total annual hours wasted in traffic:
1. Los Angeles (59 hours)
2. Honolulu (50 hours)
3. San Francisco (49 hours)
4. Austin (38 hours)
5. New York (50 hours)
6. Bridgeport (39 hours)
7. San Jose (31 hours)
8. Seattle (35 hours)
9. Washington, D.C. (41 hours)
10. Boston (31 hours)
Also, San Jose and Austin were the only two cities that saw traffic increase last year (6% and 3% respectively), every other city had a slight drop in congestion. I don't think it is a coincidence that these are also the two cities whose economies performed extremely well in 2012. I'm hoping BART, highway improvements, and building housing closer to jobs (and vice versa) will help us get out of the top 10 for this stat.
Source: SVBJ, INRIX
The improvements on the 880/280 interchange should help out a lot once they get them in place. I commuted between Santa Clara and Cupertino in 2005, and the trip would take ~40 minutes. Eventually I wised up and started taking the surface streets (San Tomas Expressway and Stevens Creek), which was much faster and less frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI have to also say that I question the methodology of a study that has "top-10" numbers of 59>50>49>38<50>39>31<35<41>31. Doesn't seem quite right.
Yeah there has to be another variable there as well. Perhaps average commute distance is a factor.
DeleteOne of the problem with drivers in the Bay Area is that they don't respect the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" rule. I was driving on 101 one weekend and was wondering why there was traffic during what should be a relatively light time of the day. By the time I maneuvered my way to the front, I discovered the cause was four cars stretched across all four lanes going at the same speed >:( !
ReplyDeleteI am tempted to write the local transportation department and request they install signs along the highway. In the meantime, I will just have to get a bumper sticker with that slogan.
This annoys the heck out of me too!
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