How early would one have to leave to avoid morning rush hour? (Austin: home)

[three_fish]

Given the fairly unanimous view that rush-hour traffic is a nightmare, I'm wondering what time it starts getting bad. We hope to move into one of the neighborhoods to the west of Austin (River Place, Steiner Ranch etc...) and I will have to commute into downtown on a daily basis.

I am used to getting up at 5:45 or so to work out in the morning (have been doing this at home where we are now) before getting ready for work and heading in to NYC. If I just moved my workout to a gym near where I work, could I avoid much of the morning traffic by leaving around 6:00-6:30 am?

Would leaving around then also avoid traffic if we were to end up in a different neighborhood either North or South of the city?

If that works, then at least I'd only have to deal with the crazy traffic on the way home.

Thanks.

[BJB817]

Before 7 am is pretty safe, coming from the north on I-35 anyway. I leave at 5:45 every morning from Georgetown to north Austin-no problems, but it seems like up until almost 7 isn't too bad..

[sssaustin]

How abt going from south?

[Moonlady]

It's been my experience that no matter what part of town, if you leave before 7:00, you should be fine. At 7:00 I have a 25 minute commute and at 7:30, it turns into 45 minutes.

[jeffari-al-texani]

I could drive from my home in Round Rock to my job at 290 and MoPac (around 28 miles) in 30 minutes...I left at 6 every morning, and I don't think I even saw brake lights on my way down...

[AGA]

When to start???? HMMMMMMMMMM, yesterday! LOL
Especially from the south!

[mark311]

Originally Posted by three_fish

If I just moved my workout to a gym near where I work, could I avoid much of the morning traffic by leaving around 6:00-6:30 am?

If that works, then at least I'd only have to deal with the crazy traffic on the way home.

As long as I leave NorthWest Round Rock (almost Georgetown) by 6:40AM, then I can make it downtown in about 35 minutes with only a few spots where traffic slows down temporarily on I-35. It takes me a full hour to get back home on average in the afternoon leaving at about 5:00. Accidents are the variable that can throw things off along with traffic being a bit heavier on Friday afternoons. I know people might disagree with me, but I think my commute times this year have improved over last year for some reason. We haven't seen a ton of rain yet, so that could be part of it.

[pvaustin]

My wife leaves around 7:10-7:15 to reach 360-south (and mopac) at around 8:00. I leave around 7:30 to reach my office (360 & 2222) at 8.

Oh..forgot..we are from Steiner.