1. Honolulu: Drivers waste 58 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Tuesday from 5:15 – 5:30 p.m. 2. Los Angeles: Drivers waste 56 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:45 – 6 p.m. 3. San Francisco: Drivers waste 48 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:45 – 6 p.m. 4. New York: Drivers waste 57 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Friday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. 5. Bridgeport, Conn.: Drivers waste 42 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Friday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. 6. Washington, D.C.: Drivers waste 45 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:45 – 6 p.m. 7. Seattle: Drivers waste 33 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. 8. Austin: Drivers waste 30 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. 9. Boston: Drivers waste 35 hours in traffic; Worst hour us Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. 10. Chicago: Drivers waste 36 hours in traffic; Worst hour us Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. Houston ranks 24th. I'm kinda surprised that it's that low over the past year. Does rank 11th though if you're looking at just April. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...houston-in-top-25-for-traffic-congestion.html http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/22/going-nowhere-10-worst-u-s-cities-for-traffic/#ixzz1vhXEwmqT
lol, Austin ranks that high just because of the clusterf*** that is 35, I assume? Houston's commutes aren't that bad as long as you're not using 290 or in the Galleria area.
Everyone thinks the traffic in their city is the worst. Houston has done a lot to alleviate the headaches, actually. I-10 West is a cakewalk compared to 10 years ago. Same with I-45 North. Eastex has always been a cakewalk. 290 and 288 are really the only bad commutes left, as far as I can tell.
Houston used to be a lot worse.. now when coming to Houston (after living in Chicago which has no beltway system), I feel like I'm on the autobahn. I do nearly 100 and get passed up. It's great. going by the stats posted.. Thursdays would be a good day to call in sick.
I used to hate driving in Houston during rush hours. Then I went to other less developed countries where it's always rush hour unless it's 12-5 AM.
Austin has some absolutely disastrous traffic. However, it's really limited to very specific regions. One can easily avoid traffic in this town if you don't live out, say, in Oak Hill or Pflugerville. Anybody who has to drive on IH-35 is basically up schitt creek. For the rest of us...Austin is really not that bad. I travel (back) to Houston regularly for business. The traffic there has improved immeasurably since I lived there (76-91). It's like it's not even the same city. Congratulations on that!
That's another killer. That bottleneck is ridiculous. And the cops sit there at the downtown spur, where traffic slows to a crawl, and ticket people for expired stickers/seat belts. Maybe do something to help traffic get moving instead?
This. Houston has a great freeway system and a good majority of the drivers have a clue compared to the rest of the cities I've driven in.
I have lived in Houston. I have lived in Austin. Houston rush hour is bad. Now Austin... Description NSFW Spoiler Imagine a giant schlong flying towards your mouth, and there's nothing you can do about it. And you're like "Oh man, I'm gonna have to suck this thing," and you brace yourself to suck this giant schlong. But then, at the last moment, it changes trajectory and hits you in the eye. You think to yourself "Well, at least I got that out of the way," but then the giant schlong rears back and stabs your eye again, and again, and again. Eventually, this giant schlong is penetrating your gray matter, and you begin to lose control of your motor skills. That's when the giant schlong slaps you across the cheek, causing you to fall out of your chair. Unable to move and at your most vulnerable, the giant schlong finally lodges itself in your butt, where it rests uncomfortably for 4, maybe 5 hours. That's what driving in Austin is like.
Yeah, that's one thing I enjoy when visiting Houston after driving around DFW. People in Houston drive aggressive, but they have respect.
The stretch in Austin from right before River Side all the way to past downtown is the worst thing to drive through ever. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is, it is always stop and go. It reminds me of 45 when your passing Grace Church, but 10x longer.
Houston is the best: no major issues with the traffic there, even during peak hours. You may be stuck in traffic but at least it moves and you're not at a complete standstill, contrary to Austin. Also Houston drivers are generally smart drivers - they know what they're doing is wrong (speeding, weaving, etc) but they do it in a much safer manner than people in other cities; it's just easier to predict which car is going where Austin is the worst: - There aren't enough bridges going south of the river so those bottlenecks take a long time to clear up - I-35's exits are all on the opposite side of what you'd expect (at least the first time you drive on it close to UT and downtown) - I-35's ramps to get on and off the highway are so short that they are just inviting accidents to happen - Students as drivers; there are way too many young/inexperienced drivers that don't pay enough attention to the road or other cars around them. They tend to make sudden turns or swerve in and out of lanes and it just takes a greater effort on your part to predict these idiots. - Austin people are just less familiar with their own roads which can be a huge annoyance to others Houston drivers really should appreciate their road system - it's a thing of beauty, especially the freeways. The only problem is around downtown with a SW-NE direction main street and all the one ways - but even that can be mastered when you drive there 3-4 times.
Houston's pretty good. After trying to cross San Francisco at rush hour, I will never again complain about Houston traffic. San Fran's kinda screwed because with the high density, the bay, and the hills, there's not much they can do to make it better. In Houston, you can just lay down more road wherever you need it.
Plus, add in the fact that the Austin street system itself is a complete clusterf*@k. The map looks like it was laid out by an epilepic 2-year old with a dull crayon and a drinking problem. And the fact that streets randomly change name for no apparent reason. "Go down 2222, exit Bullick Hollow Road, then take Koenig lane, over to Bull Creek Road, then Northland Drive over to Allandale Road"....THOSE ARE ALL THE SAME EFFING STREET! The fact that people still love living here should tell you how great the rest of the city is.
