Traffic in Baton Rouge (home, living, prices)

[Siscoe]

My husband has been stuck in traffic for hours. He pulled over for awhile and did some work on his laptop. When he thought things may have cleared up, he got back on I-10 just to find that it was still bumper to bumper and almost a dead stop.

Is this the normal traffic for BR, or is it worse because of Gustav and this being the first day back at work for many?

My husband is temporarily traveling between NOLA and BR for the week. He is staying in NOLA and working in BR (hopefully that will change by next week). What is the best way to travel to BR in the morning and back to NOLA in the afternoon? What is the best time to travel?

Are there any roads that take you around the outside of the city that might be easier to travel?

[darylwi]

What can I say, told ya. Half of Baton Rouge is still without power, half of the traffic lights, still without power. It'll get better, but rush hour in this city is still rush hour and with the lack of parallel arteries and bypasses, our rush hour isn't the prettiest in the world.
Also, you have to realize that BTR has a huge daytime population and half of that population lives in the suburban parishes. So after about 3:30pm for the next three hours, half of the population of the city is "heading home", hence the interstate traffic.
I take it your husband works in BTR during the day. The best way to negotiate BTR rush hour traffic is either to drive it in reverse (inbound at night and outbound in the morning) or avoid it altogether. Try coming in before 6:30 or 7am and try leaving before 3:30pm or wait until after 6pm. There is no easy way to get around it.

It'll get better, but traffic is a way of life here. The beauty of living within the city is that after about 7 - 8pm, all but the busiest streets just about go dead so then it's easy to get around.

There are plenty of other threads on here concerning traffic in this city with some potential tips. Check some of them out for a few ideas, but there are no easy solutions. Traffic here changes about as often as the weather.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by darylwi

What can I say, told ya. Half of Baton Rouge is still without power, half of the traffic lights, still without power. It'll get better, but rush hour in this city is still rush hour and with the lack of parallel arteries and bypasses, our rush hour isn't the prettiest in the world.
Also, you have to realize that BTR has a huge daytime population and half of that population lives in the suburban parishes. So after about 3:30pm for the next three hours, half of the population of the city is "heading home", hence the interstate traffic.
I take it your husband works in BTR during the day. The best way to negotiate BTR rush hour traffic is either to drive it in reverse (inbound at night and outbound in the morning) or avoid it altogether. Try coming in before 6:30 or 7am and try leaving before 3:30pm or wait until after 6pm. There is no easy way to get around it.

It'll get better, but traffic is a way of life here. The beauty of living within the city is that after about 7 - 8pm, all but the busiest streets just about go dead so then it's easy to get around.

There are plenty of other threads on here concerning traffic in this city with some potential tips. Check some of them out for a few ideas, but there are no easy solutions. Traffic here changes about as often as the weather.

I agree with you the whole way. People have to realize that there are probably 10,000 extra people here whether it is evacuees or the people helping out. Also, the traffic due to the lights is dead on. I take River Road home from LSU and that is even backed up these days. Most people are taking RR from downtown because that is where the traffic is coming from. I think BR traffic is better than the city I used to live in, but it is true that the roads are awesome after 7pm as the "outsiders' are in their own parishes! Good Luck!

[BetaBeta]

CAA, I loved your last statement "outsiders' are in their own parishes! Good Luck!" Ironically I told my brother one day this area will become compartmentalized (sp?) people will start doing everything (including working) in their own parishes because they are so sick of the traffic and gas prices.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by BetaBeta

CAA, I loved your last statement "outsiders' are in their own parishes! Good Luck!" Ironically I told my brother one day this area will become compartmentalized (sp?) people will start doing everything (including working) in their own parishes because they are so sick of the traffic and gas prices.

BetaBeta. I did not mean to sound mean! I am sorry 'bout that! You are correct in your last statement, gas prices and and traffic are a pain in the booty..but then again, everyone I know says the same thing no matter where they live!

[WestbankNOLA]

Maybe he could try Airline? not sure if it would make a difference though. If you reversed the travel times you would only be exchanging BR traffiv for NO traffic (not sure which is worse)