What are other NY cities like Ithaca?

[Krisps]

Ithaca has quite a reputation but I don't get it at least for the many times driving through. What stands out to me is the horrible traffic there for such a small town or city. Every time I've been there it's been gridlock and seems no way around it. That's an aspect I hate and expect in much larger cities.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Krisps

Ithaca has quite a reputation but I don't get it at least for the many times driving through. What stands out to me is the horrible traffic there for such a small town or city. Every time I've been there it's been gridlock and seems no way around it. That's an aspect I hate and expect in much larger cities.

That is due to not having a bypass or interstate highway access, I think. It can get bad around Elmira Road(Rte. 13) near the shopping that is located on the southern end of the city. Route 13 just before Downtown can get bad at certain times of the day too. If you are privvy to other routes, it seems like you can get around some of it though.

[ki0eh]

Maybe I shouldn't say this, but Route 13A is a reasonable alternative anymore to Elmira Road (Routes 13-34-96) and its traffic. The one-way pair of Fulton and Meadow corrected that traffic but then the big boxes moved into the flats and induced more traffic. Plus various traffic calming measures stopped cutting through some of the Southside side streets as folks used to do.

Driving through on Route 13 or even 79/366 is not how someone would "get" Ithaca, one would need to park and walk around the downtown Commons area, the Cornell campus and adjacent gorges, and the state parks such as Buttermilk Falls, RH Treman, and Taughannock Falls.