Houston vs. Los Angeles (Traffic)

[MB8abovetherim]

Originally Posted by worldlyman

No matter what any study or conventional wisdom tells me, I personally feel that Atlanta's routes, especially freeways, trump both in terms of some of the worst traffic.

Traffic does move on in LA and Houston, no matter how congested. The few times I've driven in and around Atlanta...that traffic never seemed to move.

What? Okay, check this out: The East LA interchange in Boyle Heights handles MORE CARS PER DAY than the ENTIRE POPULATION of the City of Atlanta. The 405 Freeway has the highest AADT of any freeway in the United States.

[2Easy]

Originally Posted by ATUMRE75

LA wins the award for the worst traffic in the counrty.

I think that NYC is worse than LA and NYers say that DC is worse than NY, so maybe LA is third. Maybe less, but definitely top 10.

[MB8abovetherim]

Originally Posted by 2Easy

I think that NYC is worse than LA and NYers say that DC is worse than NY, so maybe LA is third. Maybe less, but definitely top 10.

It's certainly hard to pinpoint specifics with something like traffic. The numbers don't lie, yes LA has the country's worst bottlenecks (east LA interchange, 405/101 interchange, 101/110 interchange, the El Toro Y) and a couple of the busiest sections of freeway (405,60,91,10,5,210) but to me that might as well all be written in greek lol

IMO what makes LA traffic the worst is it's unpredictability. It can happen anywhere at anytime any day of the week for no particular reason other than there are more cars than people here. It's really a crap shoot sometimes, I've driven the 405 some days and it was dead as hell, then on a sunday afternoon I could have had a tailgate party in the center lane lol It's just unpredictable here.

[2Easy]

LA might have the busiest, but that's not the same as worst. NY's freeways aren't as busy because they are smaller, but the traffic is as bad or worse, especially because of the bridges. LA along with NY probably does have the worst traffic outside of rush hour and both can be hit and miss. LA may even be worse because it's in many directions while NY very much has a peak/reverse commute pattern.

[MB8abovetherim]

Originally Posted by 2Easy

LA might have the busiest, but that's not the same as worst. NY's freeways aren't as busy because they are smaller, but the traffic is as bad or worse, especially because of the bridges. LA along with NY probably does have the worst traffic outside of rush hour and both can be hit and miss. LA may even be worse because it's in many directions while NY very much has a peak/reverse commute pattern.

Well I think we are starting to argue semantics here. No doubt NY is congested with heavy traffic. But based on my experience with NY, most of it is in the city, on the surface streets and with all the pedestrians. I guess you can say NY has a different type of congestion, equally ****ty, just not on the freeways like LA.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by MB8abovetherim

Well I think we are starting to argue semantics here. No doubt NY is congested with heavy traffic. But based on my experience with NY, most of it is in the city, on the surface streets and with all the pedestrians. I guess you can say NY has a different type of congestion, equally ****ty, just not on the freeways like LA.

The worst traffic in LA is definitely on the surface roads like NY, not the freeways.

[MB8abovetherim]

Originally Posted by munchitup

The worst traffic in LA is definitely on the surface roads like NY, not the freeways.

you're right, West LA, Venice, Hollywood etc. are very packed.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by MB8abovetherim

you're right, West LA, Venice, Hollywood etc. are very packed.

Anything between the 101 and 405 is pretty rough. The city is much more enjoyable when you minimize or eliminate driving.

[txstate]

The thing with Houston is that you can catch the feeder (frontage rd) or find an alternative route because a lot of the major streets parallel a freeway or connect somehow. Ive never just sat in Houston traffic because I know how to manuever around.

[DynamoLA]

OK... I am in Atlanta this week. ATL wins by far. The streets are gridlocked at 5pm here in the Perimeter area. Buckhead was the same. Took an hour to go one mile to the 285 (no exaggeration). Traffic cops at every intersection, being quite ineffective.

I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait to get back to the traffic of L.A. (but aside from that ATL is a great city).