Atlanta has ONLY the 7th worst traffic in nation... (Dunwoody: 2013, employment)

[ATLfromJAX]

Interesting article in Atlanta Biz Chronicle.

Looks like a lot of fast growing cities with better economies have WORST traffic than Atlanta - Houston, Washington DC, and Seattle is right below us.

Proof that bad traffic IS NOT a reason for why Atlanta may have lost some luster.

Atlanta is still one of the fastest growing metros today. And the traffic issue needs to be addressed.

But all the whining I read about Atlanta's traffic is from people who haven't lived or traveled to other major metros.

The worst non-rush hour traffic I been in is anytime in LA on the 405 and in San Fran on the 101 or 80 on the weekends.

Worst rush hour was in DC and in Seattle (405 in Bellevue) - have nothing on Atlanta rush hours, mainly because we have escape routes. ATL has no mountains or rivers that constrain secondary routes.

Study: Atlanta, Chicago tie for 7th worst commute - Atlanta Business Chronicle

The list:

) Washington, D.C. Annual commuter delay: 67 hours 2) The San Francisco-Oakland area and Los Angeles (tie). Annual commuter delay: 61 hours
4) New York-Newark. Annual commuter delay: 59 hours
5) Boston. Annual commuter delay: 53 hours
6) Houston. Annual commuter delay: 52 hours
7) Atlanta and Chicago (tie). Annual commuter delay: 51 hours
9) Philadelphia and Seattle (tie), Annual commuter delay: 48 hours

[erick295]

Originally Posted by ATLfromJAX

ATL has no mountains or rivers that constrain secondary routes.

...except the Chattahoochee, which is part of why the top end of 285 is such a disaster.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by erick295

...except the Chattahoochee, which is part of why the top end of 285 is such a disaster.

The top-end is a disaster because 3 major freeways, connecting employment centers, dump into a bypass. Throw 18 wheelers into the mix and no transit, that's how the top-end has became so bad.
Commuters from Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, North Fulton, and Forsyth counties are all jockeying for space.

[ATLfromJAX]

Originally Posted by erick295

...except the Chattahoochee, which is part of why the top end of 285 is such a disaster.

Yep, but there are plenty of sides roads available (riverside, akers mill on the east). Not sure about the top end going from 400 to 85, however.

[cqholt]

Article to go along with the OP.
Do Big City Drivers Actually Have It Worse? - Commute - The Atlantic Cities
Atlanta is just below the national average in congestion delays per commuter (hours per year).

[MattCW]

With the exception of Houston, ALL of the cities worse than us on that list except Houston, have alternatives, namely commuter rail into the suburbs. Atlanta has nothing! The dinky little Xpress service doesn't come close to providing real alternatives for most people.

[ATLfromJAX]

Originally Posted by MattCW

With the exception of Houston, ALL of the cities worse than us on that list except Houston, have alternatives, namely commuter rail into the suburbs. Atlanta has nothing! The dinky little Xpress service doesn't come close to providing real alternatives for most people.

Interesting comment MattCW.

So if the cities with WORST commutes have commuter rail to the suburbs, then (obviously) having commuter rail DOES NOT solve the traffic problem.

So why should Atlanta invest in commuter rail when cities like NY and LA that have rail have worse commutes???

And for the record, Atlanta does have MARTA trains that go into North Fulton/Dunwoody....maybe you're living in the wrong "suburb"...

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATLfromJAX

Interesting comment MattCW.

So if the cities with WORST commutes have commuter rail to the suburbs, then (obviously) having commuter rail DOES NOT solve the traffic problem.

So why should Atlanta invest in commuter rail when cities like NY and LA that have rail have worse commutes???

And for the record, Atlanta does have MARTA trains that go into North Fulton/Dunwoody....maybe you're living in the wrong "suburb"...

He lives in the exurb town of Conyers, they only have GRTA express service.
I do agree with Matt that Atlanta needs commuter rail, but the cities ahead of us also have a higher metro population.

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

oh it will get worse...with all the people piling up down there

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by ATLfromJAX

Interesting comment MattCW.

So if the cities with WORST commutes have commuter rail to the suburbs, then (obviously) having commuter rail DOES NOT solve the traffic problem.

So why should Atlanta invest in commuter rail when cities like NY and LA that have rail have worse commutes???

And for the record, Atlanta does have MARTA trains that go into North Fulton/Dunwoody....maybe you're living in the wrong "suburb"...

the point is not "solving" the traffic problem, it's coming up with as many ways as possible to AVOID the traffic and be able to function in the city. There is no way to solve the traffic problem outside of banning cars. The cities in the list above ( including us, to an extent) can afford to have bad traffic because there are other ways for residents and visitors to move around the city. However, the more we move up that list, the more alternatives we will have to develop for people to get around, out of necessity rather than luxury. Transit is something a large city has to have to be able to function. It's not a question of IF we need it, it's WHEN we need it. If the traffic gets bad enough, the city won't be able to function and people will move elsewhere. Then we won't have to worry about traffic anymore- we'll be like Detroit.