Surprise...Atlanta drops from top 10 for traffic congestion (Alpharetta, Dunwoody: lease, employment)

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by joe2000

I agree. Atlanta has bad traffic but its like any normal city its size.

Exactly. I'm not saying Atlanta has no traffic or that everything is rosy, but unless you commute on GA 400 or I-85, the traffic isn't all that bad compared to many other metro areas. Sure, there are good days and bad days, but on the whole, I can get to downtown Atlanta during rush hour a hell of a lot easier than I used to get to downtown Boston during rush hour.

I tend to think that many people here compare Atlanta today to Atlanta years ago, which I can do as well, and in that comparison things are much worse today. However, if you compare Atlanta with other large cities, for the most part it's not any worse, and this study bears that out.

Ever been on the L.I.E. in NY during rush hour? Waited at the GW Bridge tolls in NJ? Been on Rte 128 doing the "computer commute" or Rte 3 from the south shore in the Boston area? Atlanta has some bad traffic in specific places at certain times, but the hype is way overrated most of the time.

[gt6974a]

CCT, CATS, Gwinette, etc to thank.

Your all welcome.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

CCT, CATS, Gwinette, etc to thank.

Your all welcome.

But definitely not MARTA...

A big thanks to:
CCT with 11,000 riders/day
GCT with 8,000 riders/day

MARTA with it's poor leadership and lack of rail coverage...451,000 riders/day

[neil0311]

Of course NY, Chicago, Boston, and DC all have what most people would call comprehensive transit. They still suffer from bad traffic. Worse than Atlanta according to this study.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by neil0311

I'm sure this is partly due to the bad economy and rising gas prices, but other cities have had to deal with the same economy and prices. Atlanta is now #12 and guess what...NYC and Chicago...those examples of near perfect rapid transit are now #2 and #3 while Boston and Seattle are #8 and #9 respectively.

INRIX National Traffic Scorecard

Take my word for it- it is a LIE. I have lived in both Dallas and Chicago and while traffic is not fun in either, it is a damn DREAM next to Atlanta. I would rather spend 5 rush hours on the Dan Ryan or Kennedy in Chicago than 1 hour on the Perimeter or the Connector here. And, as far as transit goes, think of how bad it would be if there were another 500,000 people in cars!

[KevK]

Originally Posted by joe2000

I agree. Atlanta has bad traffic but its like any normal city its size. The only reason most people think that Atlanta has bad traffic is because Atlanta has more interstate lanes than most cities. Traffic looks worse if you are in 7 lanes of traffic verse 4 lanes. You can be in another city in 4 lanes of traffic traveling at 5 mph but if you are in Atlanta in 7 lanes of traffic going 10 mph, those same people will say Atlanta traffic is worse even though you are going faster

I know Atlanta has bad traffic. Not because of the lanes it has but because it can take you well over an hour to get from Buckhead to Memorial Drive at times. It can take you 1.5 hours to transverse the 21 miles from I-20 west to Ashford-Dunwoody on 285 with a 5 speed manual Mustang where you never get past 2nd gear the whole way!

[kayrob]

I think this is bulls_t. Let whoever came up with that spend a few weeks taking I-20 East out of Douglas County between 7-8am.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by kayrob

I think this is bulls_t. Let whoever came up with that spend a few weeks taking I-20 East out of Douglas County between 7-8am.

I'm quite sure it's more believable than one person's opinion...check out the research data gathered on each city, then bash the ranking:
INRIX National Traffic Scorecard (http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/Top100Metros.asp - broken link)

INRIX looks to be a pretty reputable source:

INRIX is a leading innovator of real-time, historical and predictive traffic information, offering the broadest coverage, exceptional accuracy and innovative technologies to ensure the success of our customers’ navigation and traffic-enabled solutions. INRIX provides traffic, navigation, and location-based services to more than 65 industry-leading customers.

INRIX (http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/about.asp - broken link)

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by kayrob

I think this is bulls_t. Let whoever came up with that spend a few weeks taking I-20 East out of Douglas County between 7-8am.

OK, but other cities have as bad or worse. The sad truth here is that most urban centers have bad traffic, but it's relative.

Funny how people are calling this all kinds of names because it doesn't agree with their perception. If the same study said Atlanta had the worst traffic in the nation, you'd be praising it as tremendous.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by kayrob

I think this is bulls_t. Let whoever came up with that spend a few weeks taking I-20 East out of Douglas County between 7-8am.

That is where and when I go. During the school year I enter at Hwy 6 Thornton Rd and during the summer and school holidays I enter at Six Flags Drive (it cuts off about 2 miles of I-20 but the dozen or so school busses on Six Flags Drive erase all that advantage). Actually we have it pretty good here compared with people that have to deal with 285, 85 and 78.