Is traffic really that bad in Denver? (Golden, Keenesburg: 2013, living in)

[Strelok]

Thinking about moving back to Denver, I left in 2013. My concern is primarily the traffic. I never had problems with I-25, I-225 or some of the other main roads that aren't highways.

But the people I know that live there always complain about how long their commutes are now and how the population has exploded in the couple years since.

Just wondering what everyone's take is here.

I loved living in metro Denver because of the convenience factor and I could get around quickly.

[BornintheSprings]

Its not as bad as LA

[Norrov84]

Denver traffic is astronomically worse now than it was 5-8 years ago.

25, 225 and 70 are ****-shows. I don't commute to work, but I-70 during ski season is getting bad enough to change my mind about going sometimes.

Now.. Is it even close to bad as a real city such as LA, Chicago, Austin etc? Nah.

I honestly don't think the traffic here is that terrible, But I spent quite awhile in Chicago too..

[Hschlick84]

The problem with Denver metro, there are not enough highways or interstates that support the amount of vehicles on the roads. That is why I-25, I-70, I-76 and I-270 are always congested.

E-470 should never be a toll, same thing with Northwest Parkway. If that was the case, alot of the traffic would bypass Denver and go straight to the suburbs.

My ideas, not CDOT:

- I-70 from I-25 to C-470 in Golden is not wide enough to accommodate the traffic, it should be 10 lanes.

- I-76 west to I-70 needs to be 8 lanes, not the current 4 lanes. I-76 from I-25 east to Keenesburg should be 6 lanes.

- I-270 needs to be 8 lanes, not 4 lanes. It's a badly neglected interstate and CDOT doesn't seem to care about it.

- I-25 north of US 36 to 120th Ave, the extra 4th lane added as a toll doesn't help with traffic. CDOT should have made it 10 lanes, all free to drive on.

- C-470 west from I-25 to Kipling, is getting widened but with only an extra toll lane. That is ridiculous, it should be widen to 10 lanes.

[guyatwork37]

It depends on what you're used to. If you're coming from Lincoln, NE you'll basically think you've gone to hell. If you're coming from Los Angeles, CA, you laugh at everyone who mentions the idea of "bad traffic" in Denver.

[emm74]

Traffic has gotten noticeably worse in the decade I've lived here, but as noted by others, it all depends on your basis for comparison.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by guyatwork37

It depends on what you're used to. If you're coming from Lincoln, NE you'll basically think you've gone to hell. If you're coming from Los Angeles, CA, you laugh at everyone who mentions the idea of "bad traffic" in Denver.

This. Everything is perspective.

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by guyatwork37

It depends on what you're used to. If you're coming from Lincoln, NE you'll basically think you've gone to hell. If you're coming from Los Angeles, CA, you laugh at everyone who mentions the idea of "bad traffic" in Denver.

I'm not so sure about that. I moved to Denver in 1996 after (unfortunately) growing up in LA. Both places were hellpits of traffic congestion, though I vastly preferred Denver over LA for multiple other reasons. By 2000 the traffic congestion in Denver outweighed its positives as a city (to me) so my Denver-native spouse and I moved to a CA coastal town with almost no traffic but other problems for a young not-rich couple so we moved back to a mid-size CO city in 2002 and finally found the ideal balance of managable traffic/work/life balance. Denver's great in many ways but the traffic is horrendous, even to someone originally from LA. I dread going up there at this point.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by Norrov84

Denver traffic is astronomically worse now than it was 5-8 years ago.

25, 225 and 70 are ****-shows. I don't commute to work, but I-70 during ski season is getting bad enough to change my mind about going sometimes.

x2.

Recently came down I25 from Denver at 10pm on a weeknight and it was a steady stream of lights all the way down.

[davebarnes]

Whatever.