Is the traffic really that bad? (Atlanta: real estate, houses, construction)

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Cleaner than L.A.? I'm sorry for you guys. Yikes.

LOL, that's exactly what I was thinking Greg

[veronicaluv]

having been both places and to Atlanta most recently with a clear view of the roads from my hotel room's 49th floor. I wouldn't say Atlanta's traffic is worse than LA or New York's BQE, LIE, or Belt Parkway, etc with a minor accident. In fact in the middle of the day the Atlanta roads are free and clear as evidenced by the people going 70 miles an hour.

As an outsider looking in, I've heard many native Atlantians complain about bad traffic but they mean traffic is bad when there's an accident (in which they all rubberneck, and I thought I'd never see rubbernecking worse than in NYC) or when they can't go their normal 70... They drive too fast in the city areas, they should lower the speed limit closer to Atlanta citry proper and i think that would cut down on a lot of the accidents that tie their traffic up.

[Figment 07]

Originally Posted by veronicaluv

In fact in the middle of the day the Atlanta roads are free and clear as evidenced by the people going 70 miles an hour.

Not many Atlantans would be commuting to or from their jobs "in the middle of the day", though.

[veronicaluv]

Originally Posted by Figment 07

Not many Atlantans would be commuting to or from their jobs "in the middle of the day", though.

this is very true, but I guess I added that because in New York City there's traffic pretty much all the time. Whereas from what I saw middle of the day the major roads were like New York City highways at 1 AM, Sunday Morning.

[xxman777]

I don't think the problem in Atlanta is really the highways. It's the back roads and the fact people live 40 miles from their jobs and there is no transit system to get them into town. Most back roads are two lanes and their is no alternative route. It often takes 5-10 minutes just to get through one light every single day because they back up forever, and there is no alternative. Plus the fact people live 40 miles out. In NY you can take a train into the city. Sittting on a train for 40 minutes is a lot easier to deal with then fighting traffic for 40 minutes. Sure the highways suck but they aren't any worse then most big cities, it's the distances people travel and the back roads that are the problem.

I'm not going to argue that traffic in Atl is worse then NY or LA, it's just different. Parts of each system or worse and parts of each system are better. It just depends on your situation.

[JPD]

Traffic is rarely a problem for me. I drive from Tucker to Downtown (and back) every day during rush hour. I don't use the highway (except for a brief segment of hwy. 78). One way is 11 or 12 miles. I find that the easiest part of my commute is the last mile or two approaching the downtown area. One would think this would be the most congested part of the commute, but I've yet to get stuck in a morning traffic jam on my current route.

I was recently in Washington DC. We took a day trip to Annapolis, which is 25 or 30 miles from DC. Traffic leaving DC (at lunchtime) and entering DC (at 5:30 pm) was horrendous.

[Noc]

Originally Posted by JPD

Traffic is rarely a problem for me. I drive from Tucker to Downtown (and back) every day during rush hour. I don't use the highway (except for a brief segment of hwy. 78). One way is 11 or 12 miles. I find that the easiest part of my commute is the last mile or two approaching the downtown area. One would think this would be the most congested part of the commute, but I've yet to get stuck in a morning traffic jam on my current route.

I was recently in Washington DC. We took a day trip to Annapolis, which is 25 or 30 miles from DC. Traffic leaving DC (at lunchtime) and entering DC (at 5:30 pm) was horrendous.

Just how long is your daily commute from Tucker to Downtown not using the highway during rush hour?

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Noc

Just how long is your daily commute from Tucker to Downtown not using the highway during rush hour?

I walk out my front door at 7:20 and I'm seated at my desk at work (in the 5 Points/Fairlie Poplar area) by 8. Sometimes I leave as late as 7:25. I can't remember the last time I was late to work, so I'd say it's a consistent 25 to 30 minutes of driving time plus a few minutes to park and walk to my building.

My drive home tends to be more congested, but somehow it still takes a similar amount of time. I leave work at 4:30 and walk in my front door at home at 5:10, give or take a few minutes.

I'm not a particularly fast driver.

My current route has been discovered through a LOT of trial and error.

[Noc]

Originally Posted by JPD

I walk out my front door at 7:20 and I'm seated at my desk at work (in the 5 Points/Fairlie Poplar area) by 8. Sometimes I leave as late as 7:25. I can't remember the last time I was late to work, so I'd say it's a consistent 25 to 30 minutes of driving time plus a few minutes to park and walk to my building.

My drive home tends to be more congested, but somehow it still takes a similar amount of time. I leave work at 4:30 and walk in my front door at home at 5:10, give or take a few minutes.

I'm not a particularly fast driver.

My current route has been discovered through a LOT of trial and error.

That's not bad at all. It sounds like you take your time too, as you didn't mention overtaking, barreling through yellow lights, break rotors red hot and the wind in your hair. LOL!

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Noc

That's not bad at all. It sounds like you take your time too, as you didn't mention overtaking, barreling through yellow lights, break rotors red hot and the wind in your hair. LOL!

Sometimes I'll run a yellow light, but that's as aggressive as I get. Overtakeing vehicles is not even within the realm of possibility considering I have a four cylinder automatic transmission.