Traffic in Greater Boston / E. Mass. (Cambridge, Lynn: neighborhoods, construction, living)

[darkone]

I moved back to this area last year after living away for over a decade, just returning for brief visits. I find that traffic on all the highways is much worse than 10-15 years ago. I don't recall routine weekend traffic jams and crawling traffic on 128 for example. Rush hours last longer it seems, 495 is worse etc. SE expressway is almost a 24/7 jam. Mass pike is worse heading all the way to Sturbridge. List goes on. I understand about the population increase.

My question is, do others who have been living around here continuously, view things the same way? When did things take a real turn for the worse? Do you have a more negative view of this metro area now as compared to the past as a result?

[CaseyB]

I have the same opinion except that I believe things started to go downhill 25 years ago or so.
This is not the same state I grew up in.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by darkone

I moved back to this area last year after living away for over a decade, just returning for brief visits. I find that traffic on all the highways is much worse than 10-15 years ago. I don't recall routine weekend traffic jams and crawling traffic on 128 for example. Rush hours last longer it seems, 495 is worse etc. SE expressway is almost a 24/7 jam. Mass pike is worse heading all the way to Sturbridge. List goes on. I understand about the population increase.

My question is, do others who have been living around here continuously, view things the same way? When did things take a real turn for the worse? Do you have a more negative view of this metro area now as compared to the past as a result?

Even 5 years ago I never hit traffic on the Expressway on the weekend unless there was an accident. Now it's routinely backed up most of the day during weekdays and most weekend afternoons and evenings.

128 has always been a crappy ride but yes it's gotten worse, and that's with the extra lane.

The Mass Pike is actually way better without the toll booths. Once the construction is done I expect it will be even better.

[jayrandom]

I haven't really noticed, but I go out of my way to drive at off hours so that really just means I haven't noticed, not that I don't think it's worse.

Looking at population numbers, though, growth has not been crazy. What's the explanation for traffic getting so much worse? Suffolk had 670k in 1995 and has 780k now. Norfolk went from 630k to 700k. Middlesex went from 1.42m to 1.58m. For comparison Fulton County Georgia (Atlanta) went from 730k to 1.01m in that same span. Harris County Texas (Houston) went from 3.1m to 4.5m.

Is that small amount of growth enough to cross some tipping point? Are people driving more? Are more people working?

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I haven't really noticed, but I go out of my way to drive at off hours so that really just means I haven't noticed, not that I don't think it's worse.

Looking at population numbers, though, growth has not been crazy. What's the explanation for traffic getting so much worse? Suffolk had 670k in 1995 and has 780k now. Norfolk went from 630k to 700k. Middlesex went from 1.42m to 1.58m. For comparison Fulton County Georgia (Atlanta) went from 730k to 1.01m in that same span. Harris County Texas (Houston) went from 3.1m to 4.5m.

Is that small amount of growth enough to cross some tipping point? Are people driving more? Are more people working?

Traffic is an asomtotic function with time so once you get past a certain threshold near capacity it doesn't take a whole lot more vehicles to make traffic a lot worse.

For example in 1 lane the difference between 1 car per hour and 240 cars/hour has no impact on traffic speeds but the difference between 450 and 500 would have a big difference.

[johngolf]

There was a plan to run a highway off of I93, north of Boston, then have that highway link up with I93 south of Boston thus bypassing downtown. At one time when headed south on I93, just before the double deck, you could see the uncompleted exit ramp on the right side.

The Dukakis adminstration's ?highway expert?, Fred Salvucci killed it. Some say he did more harm then good. Others say the highway would have gutted some neighborhoods. I was on the side that he did more harm then good.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by johngolf

There was a plan to run a highway off of I93, north of Boston, then have that highway link up with I93 south of Boston thus bypassing downtown. At one time when headed south on I93, just before the double deck, you could see the uncompleted exit ramp on the right side.

The Dukakis adminstration's ?highway expert?, Fred Salvucci killed it. Some say he did more harm then good. Others say the highway would have gutted some neighborhoods. I was on the side that he did more harm then good.

Actually Salvucci had nothing to do with the cancellation of I695. Gov. Sargent was the one that killed it after strong community opposition to it along with any other highway construction inside of 128. I695 would have crossed through Somerville, Inman Sq, Central Sq, BU Bridge, BU, the Fens, Northeastern, and Roxbury. Killed at the same time was the Southwest XWay/ (I95 from Canton to Roxbury), Northwest XWay (Rt 3 and 2 from Burlington to Somerville), and Northeast XWay (I95 through Lynn). Could anyone image the blight that Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Brookline, Arlington, Lexington would have if those highways had been built?

Salvucci is the one that came up with the Big Dig. As the Sec. of Transportation under Dukakis, he was responsible for support of the Big Dig as well as major public transit initiatives.

IMHO, the traffic in Boston is bad. But if you go to any thriving major city, traffic is bad. If traffic is good, that means people aren't working and they are leaving the area.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by darkone

I moved back to this area last year after living away for over a decade, just returning for brief visits. I find that traffic on all the highways is much worse than 10-15 years ago. I don't recall routine weekend traffic jams and crawling traffic on 128 for example. Rush hours last longer it seems, 495 is worse etc. SE expressway is almost a 24/7 jam. Mass pike is worse heading all the way to Sturbridge. List goes on. I understand about the population increase.

My question is, do others who have been living around here continuously, view things the same way? When did things take a real turn for the worse? Do you have a more negative view of this metro area now as compared to the past as a result?

I'm a newcomer to the area, but apparently your observation is grounded in reality. There was an article from last April that addresses this in detail:

Boston Traffic Sucks

[tysmith95]

The area needs to work on improving and expanding public transportation. Public transportation scales well with population increases, highways do not.

I also think some congestion pricing (for example tolls on I93 during the busiest times) could help to improve traffic. With electronic tolling new tolls help instead of hurt traffic. Use the money from new tolls to pay for things like a North South Rail Line.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

The area needs to work on improving and expanding public transportation. Public transportation scales well with population increases, highways do not.

Not really. Buses scale, but they sit in the same crappy traffic that every car sits in and they limit you to a schedule. Expanding rail is more or less off the table due to NIMBYism.

I also think some congestion pricing (for example tolls on I93 during the busiest times) could help to improve traffic. With electronic tolling new tolls help instead of hurt traffic. Use the money from new tolls to pay for things like a North South Rail Line.

Federal rules don't allow adding tolls to interstates to existing lanes, so tolls on 93 are out unless the rules change.

Given how bad traffic is, people won't be deterred by tolls because the only reason they're driving is because they don't have a choice. Look at how high tolls are in NYC, yet there's congestion at all hours of the day.