Cities /w Worst Traffic Flow

[PeninsulaKiddo]

Speaking of horrible traffic flow, I was wondering if this sort of thing happens in other cities around the U.S., or if its just a New England/Northeast thing:

An accident occurs on the highway, on the other side in the other direction, yet traffic backs up for miles on the side without the accident cause everyone slows down to stare at the crash on the other side.  This happened yesterday and got me snarled in traffic for an extra 35 minutes than normal.  This happen everywhere?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's nothing us Hampton Roads folks love more than to stare intently at a four-car pileup! If that means you gotta slow down to 35 in a 65 zone, then by all means DO IT! If it means that you might cause an accident on your side of the highway... WHO CARES!? It's worth it to see death and destruction, duh.

I've noticed this problem most places and I just don't get it. Probably driven by the human mind's obsession with disasters. Hence all you see on CNN is things blowing up or floods or hurricanes or basically whatever kills the most people and gives the best shots on TV. Same phenomenon I guess?

[GaryP]

This past winter we had a terribly foggy day in Grand Rapids. Visibility went to near zero and there was a terrible pile up on one side of the highway (around 50 cars). Then all the people slowing down to rubberneck on the other side caused an equally bad pile up for a total of a 100 car pile up! I'm not making this up. It kind of serves the gawkers right, but at the same time screws over the 50 people behind them.

[Recchia]

Okay good, this does happen everywhere. What I hate most about it is, by the time I get up to the accident, the traffic is so slow anyway, that I end up staring at the accident too, just because I can since we're barely moving. So it's that damn person's in the very front when the accident first happens that screws it all up for everyone I guess!

[cheeriokid61]

Yeah, I guess everyone hates the embarassment of being in a wreck, HOWEVER, if somebody else is in a wreck, then by all means, stare and make fun as much as you want! (Just make sure all the windows are up!)

Anyway, the thing that bothers me the most is when you wait patiently in line to see the wreck, and when you get there, all that's left are a couple black lines on the road! That makes me mad. Does anybody else feel that way?

[peaceloveunderstanding]

er, your joking right? Why would anyone even care if there was a wreck, I know I don't even look at it.

[cheeriokid61]

Yeah, I kind of was joking. I don't go low enough to enjoy myself when someone else has a horrible experience. I've been there myself, and it's one of real low points that happen during your life. I don't find that cool.

[TennBear]

You seem to know the interstates well, TennBear. Did you ever live in Nashville?

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I was born and reared in Memphis. I went to college in Knoxville during the 70's and have gone through Nashville countless times over the years. My mother still lives in Memphis and I dtive through Nashville at least twice a year going to visit her. It has changed a good deal from the four lanes that ran through in '72 to now. Nashville has it hard when it comes to expanding and realining it's highways, due to the fact that they have to blow away rock to do anything.

[waverider]

These are the areas that I've encountered THE WORST traffic in (in no particular order):

*Hampton Roads, VA. This is what happens when you get counties incorporating as cities to compete with the cities that already exist--ridiculous sprawl. I-64's four lanes at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel is just unfathomable at this point. VDOT built I-664 as an alternate route, but it's so far out of the way! It works for people coming in from Suffolk (shipyard traffic?), but people traveling from the Peninsula to Virginia Beach are not going to take I-664 all the way around the western side of Hampton Roads just to cut back down I-64 West (which is still only 4 lanes up to Greenbrier/Battlefield) or I-264 (through which they must contend with Downtown Tunnel and Berkley Bridge traffic). I grew up just south of the area, and my sister is in school at Hampton University, so I'm very familiar with the standstills. As for the Peninsula, I-64 is maxed out due to not only local traffic, but thru traffic from Richmond into Virginia Beach.

I've seen the plans for a third bridge-tunnel across the James River; I hope it's not too little, too late. It seems like an odd orientation, with the new BT branching off of I-664 and looping back over to I-564. Convenient for the military commuters, I suppose. I still feel like it won't help that much, as you're still maxing out I-64 between the 564 split and the 64/264 interchange by Military Circle and Newtown Road.

I'm still thinking about moving back, though.

*Atlanta and DC. 'Nuff said.

*Greensboro used to have horrible traffic on I-40 west of the 40-85 split, between the airport and High Point Rd. They've since widened from 4 to 6 lanes, but I don't know how much of a help it's been. I've seen the plans for Painter Blvd. and all the other highway construction for the city, and I feel sorry for all who will have to navigate that mess.

*Charlotte's I-77 north of I-85 is being widened, but with the booming growth in the Lake Norman area, I doubt it will be able to keep up. Also I-77 at the state line, where 8 lanes in South Carolina condense into 6 lanes into downtown Charlotte.

*I-40 between Durham/Chapel Hill and Wade Ave. in Raleigh can be a serious parking lot at any time of day. Again, 4 lanes from 15-501 to the Durham Freeway, with major development along that corridor. Not to mention NC 54. Ugh!

*The Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. I don't think traffic on that highway EVER thins out.

Someone mentioned Cincinnati as having bad traffic; I travel to Cinti pretty often for work, and I don't think I've ever encountered horrible traffic there. At least it moves.

But we must also consider that I live in Columbia, SC right now. Traffic? What's that? (Unless you count Malfunction Junction, that is...)

[G W North]

My drive to work is about 19-20 miles (more than half of which is on a freeway), and two Fridays ago it took me nearly 2 HOURS to get home. Yep, nearly 2 hours to drive 20 miles, even when about 14 of those miles are on a freeway.

[GaryP]

My drive to work is about 19-20 miles (more than half of which is on a freeway), and two Fridays ago it took me nearly 2 HOURS to get home. Yep, nearly 2 hours to drive 20 miles, even when about 14 of those miles are on a freeway.

That is awful. Where do you live?

Got stuck last night on that d*mn Dan Ryan again. Sunday night around 7PM and its stop and go. Looked bad in both directions too. I just dont understand where all that traffic comes from.

[statedude3]

Detroit is the "father of the freeway", where you can get to any point in the metro area in 30 min or less...that is unless your on I-696 on the north side of town between 3 and 7pm. All lanes are jam packed for almost the entire 4 hour rush hour. I have traveled to most of the other "big cities" and have never seen anything like it. The highway has been outgrown by the 5.5 million person metro-area that it serves.

[cowboytx26]

No large, major US city has solved its transportation problem with freeways. There is no such thing as a freeway in a large, growing city without some sort of congestion during peak travel times and probably more often. I think San Antonio comes closest to this, but it still has peak-time congestion on most urbanized freeways. We need to realize cars=congestion and keep looking for other solutions.

[Allan]

Detroit is the "father of the freeway", where you can get to any point in the metro area in 30 min or less...that is unless your on I-696 on the north side of town between 3 and 7pm.  All lanes are jam packed for almost the entire 4 hour rush hour.  I have traveled to most of the other "big cities" and have never seen anything like it.  The highway has been outgrown by the 5.5 million person metro-area that it serves.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think traffic on 696 is that bad. It can be slow, yes, but it's nothing like the Dan Ryan at rush hour. Most of the time I find traffic to be moving 40-50mph during rush hour. Backups do form at the I-75/696 interchange & at the 696/275/96/M-5 interchange, but that's about it. The traffic jams I've seen on M-59 cause more delays than those on 696. M-59 is the new 696...traffic seems to be increasing exponentially on that road. M-DOT should expand 59 to 4 lanes in each direction & make it a freeway all the way from I-94 to I-96 in Howell. Then people living in the McMansions off 50 Mile Road will be able to get home faster.

[GaryP]

M-DOT should expand 59 to 4 lanes in each direction & make it a freeway all the way from I-94 to I-96 in Howell.

Detroit should get no more freeways unless MDOT decides to tear up some of the existing ones. Detroit

[Allan]

I was being sarcastic. Unfortunately, M-59 really is becoming the new 696, as sprawl edges out ever farther from the city's core. The scary part about the whole thing is that Oakland County's executive, L. Brooks Patterson, views sprawl as a good thing. The more of it, the better, as far as he's concerned. Unfortunately he fails to see that the inner ring communities in his own county are begining to decline as as a result of his beloved sprawl. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The 200 cities & townships that make up metro Detroit must learn to cooperate if the region is ever going to get over the segregation, poor economy, and rampant sprawl that plagues it. Widening roads is not the answer either, although L. Brooks would like you to think that it is.

[unusualfire]

Someone mentioned Cincinnati as having bad traffic; I travel to Cinti pretty often for work, and I don't think I've ever encountered horrible traffic there.  At least it moves.

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I think my qoute was it was not as bad as Chicago. Of course everyone has there different opinion of what badis. But the cut in the hill(I-75 in Ky) is bad. I-75 can be bad at times. Back ups can happen anytime of day, but lasting all day, nah not in Ohio. Thursday's and Fridays are always the worse days. And it's not just traffic on the interstates. Many roads leading to the expresseways in the region can take just as long as being on the interstates itself.

I-75

I-71

[GaryP]

The scary part about the whole thing is that Oakland County's executive, L. Brooks Patterson, views sprawl as a good thing.

That guy is a total moron isnt he? It seems like he just loves to stick it to the city; that's the worst part about him. I feel bad for Detroiters because their city is run by people even more clueless than L. Brooks.

[dgreen]

ATL traffic sucks.

[G W North]

That is awful.  Where do you live?

Got stuck last night on that d*mn Dan Ryan again.  Sunday night around 7PM and its stop and go.  Looked bad in both directions too.  I just dont understand where all that traffic comes from.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I live in Toronto. I've been around the United States, and traffic I've seen there is nothing compared to the congestion we have here. My drive from the parking lot at work to the freeway, a distance of less than one mile, takes 10 minutes ON A GOOD DAY. On a bad day it takes 20 minutes. Average is about 12-13 minutes to go less than one mile.

I've never been to Chicago though. I hear it's just as congested.

[Lady Celeste]

I live in Toronto. I've been around the United States, and traffic I've seen there is nothing compared to the congestion we have here. My drive from the parking lot at work to the freeway, a distance of less than one mile, takes 10 minutes ON A GOOD DAY. On a bad day it takes 20 minutes. Average is about 12-13 minutes to go less than one mile.

I've never been to Chicago though. I hear it's just as congested.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww, where is the quality of life.

That is so not living. Spending all that time in your car. when does one get a chance to have dinners with friends? Attend school functions with the children? Take a stroll around the neighborhood with a spouse of love one? Visit a park or museum? Or look at all the flowers and just relax? I would go stark crazy if I had a commute like that.

G W North I really hope you live 2 miles from your job.

[G W North]

Well, I'm planning on moving downtown, but I think I'm going to wait until September now.

[waverider]

I think my qoute was it was not as bad a Chicago. Of course everyone has there different opinion of what badis. But the cut in the hill(I-75 in Ky) is bad. I-75 can be bad at times. Back ups can happen anytime of day, but lasting all day, nah not in Ohio. Thursday's and Fridays are always the worse days. And it's not just traffic on the interstates. Many roads leading to the expresseways in the region can take just as long as being on the interstates itself.

I'm taking notes, as there's a possibility I could be moving to Cincinnati in the near future. I'd prefer to have as effortless a commute as possible.

[GA native_CFT]

Atlanta has horrible traffic. It rivals the traffic of LA and might actually have the worst traffic flow in the whole country. Also, ive been reading several of the discussions about growth in Southeastern cities, and they all sey that they dont want to end up like Atlanta. Why? What's so bad about Atlanta? Could somebody please tell me!

[Martinman]

Atlanta has horrible traffic. It rivals the traffic of LA and might actually have the worst traffic flow in the whole country. Also, ive been reading several of the discussions about growth in Southeastern cities, and they all sey that they dont want to end up like Atlanta. Why? What's so bad about Atlanta? Could somebody please tell me!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You should spend some time in LA before making a claim like this.

[Recchia]

Atlanta has horrible traffic. It rivals the traffic of LA and might actually have the worst traffic flow in the whole country. Also, ive been reading several of the discussions about growth in Southeastern cities, and they all sey that they dont want to end up like Atlanta. Why? What's so bad about Atlanta? Could somebody please tell me!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Atlanta has grown in a very suburban fashion, i.e. most growth has been outward and is in the form of single family homes. The more spread out the city is, the more people have to drive everywhere, and the farther they have to drive, thus adding to traffic congestion. If Atlanta were denser then more people could walk or use transit (that cannot exist efficiently without high densities) instead of driving. The same would be true about any city that has sprawled in the same nature, not just Atlanta.