The Truth about Austin Traffic (Dallas, Round Rock: house, neighborhoods, to buy)

[zeebird]

So my husband and I are moving to Austin this fall. We are hoping to buy a house in SW or SE Austin. I am really concerned about traffic since I am used to public transportation in Chicago. What neighborhoods do you recommend living in & what roads to avoid (aside from 35) if I'm commuting to Mueller during rush hour? Thanks for your help!

[jread]

Depends on where in SW/SE Austin you're talking about. Most of the areas with affordable housing don't even have bus service.

[zeebird]

Well we are looking for a place so it's hard to say but I guess I am hoping to find something that's not a horrible commute to Mueller from SW or SE. Is that possible?

[jread]

It's possible from SE but SW Austin will be much trickier.

[jenkirk]

I live in SW Austin, and the commute to Mueller would be a nightmare! Your commute from SE Austin would not be too great either.
Moderator cut: realtor advertising

[dallasmaverick]

I am from Dallas (which has the best highway/road system of any U.S. city I have ever spent any time in) and have lived here in the Austin Metro for about 9 months, let me give you my quick analysis: in the central Austin area, traffic is BAD. if you have to go through downtown on 35 or MoPac anywhere near rush hour expect to sit and wait. Aside from Ben White in the south and 183 in the North there is no real East- West highway. So you should plan your commute to avoid those bottlenecks around downtown and understand that E-W traffic will be bad anywhere near the city center (or going out towards Lake Travis.) Maybe it is because Austin is relatively new to being a "big city" but i think one of the biggest problems traffic- wise is the fact that to exit one freeway and get on another (i.e. Ben White 290/71 to I-35) you have to exit, then go through a stoplight, make a right or left turn, then get on an on ramp. During traffic that can take easily 10 minutes. I really like Austin and I understand that they feel like they are valuing their small town atmosphere and the environment, but the freeway situation is a nightmare.
Compare this to Dallas, where whenever they build a new freeway, interchange, or re-do a highway, they do it to almost overkill status. 12 lane highways are the norm, and look at the intersection of US75 and I-635 in North Dallas, that is an example of how you can design an intersection to handle MILLIONS of cars a day without bottlenecking.
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[fil]

You won't know unless you experienced it for yourself.

I was in corp housing until we found our house, so I just drove and experienced traffic from each of the prospective neighborhoods we were looking at.

I also used this traffic site to get a sense of the commute and frequency of accidents: MyFox Austin | Traffic Home (http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/Traffic;jsessionid=E62B462AECF9F0A07ACDBF10AE7FCAF 9?pageId=10.1 - broken link)

[zeebird]

Thanks for sharing traffic info! Guess I just need to try different routes and stay away from 35 in rush hr.

[fil]

Actually all of Austin's I-35 route isn't the problem. I know folks that hop on I-35 North from 183/Mopac and get to work a lot faster than taking Mopac straight up towards Parmer and Round Rock.

Traffic is varied based on time of day and direction.

Keep an eye out on the Fox news site or any other traffic site, take notes on where you want to be, and you'll get a sense of your commute.

In this town, 1-2 mile difference in address may be another 5-20 minute commute.

[texastea]

This might help a little

Austin Traffic Report | Traffic Information | Road Conditions TX:: Traffic.com