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Yeah I’ve seen those as well, but I can tell you just based on personal experience that there’s no real comparison.
Honolulu is terrible, no doubt, but I think where those larger metros get you is in the surrounding areas, something Honolulu doesn’t have. So while the (relativity small) core of Honolulu may be just as bad, you won’t be running into the same scope of traffic jams like you would in those other places 50, 60, and even 70 miles away from the city center.
Seattle, for example, can literally be bumper-to-bumper from north pf Marysville some 50 miles to the north to south of Olympia some 60 miles to the south, at the same time
The studies mentioned cities, not metro areas. I've been stuck in rush hour traffic in both metro areas and I don't see how the Seattle area is worse than Honolulu. Now if you're comparing driving from Tacoma to downtown Seattle with driving from Salt Lake to downtown Honolulu, of course it'll take longer. 30 miles in traffic will take you longer than 5 miles in traffic almost anywhere. I've also talked to others who said Honolulu traffic is comparable, or even worse, than places like Seattle or LA. Compared on a mile to mile basis, Honolulu's traffic is right up there with the worst in the nation.
What makes traffic on Oahu much worse than an LA or Seattle, in my opinion, is when there is an accident - you are extremely limited in alternative routes - you've got ocean on one side you - mountains on the other.
Anybody get stuck in the mess Friday night - people ran out of gas sitting in the traffic.
Seattle (proper) has a narrow, hour-glass shape as a consequence of originally being sited between two large bodies of water: Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Lake Washington is a fresh water lake about twenty-two miles in length and lies to the east. Within city limits, I would guess Seattle is only 5 or miles miles wide at its greatest width. In this regard, when considering traffic flows, Seattle and the southern half of Oahu have some resemblances.
Interestingly, both cities/counties have attempted to deal with the vehicle congestion by building rail in various forms. Both
have been plagued by cost overruns and funding concerns.
Honolulu's traffic is only bad on certain hours, certain days and certain directions.
If you travel between 10 am to 3 pm to anywhere on the island, traffic is smooth pending some unforeseen problems. The traffic on weekend is quiet.
Even during rush hour, only traffic towards Leeward side from town is terrible. Traffic towards Waikiki, the East Side and the Windward side is bad but not terrible.
In Mainland cities like NYC, the traffic can be pretty bad during most hours of the day.
Is expanding freeways or developing rail transit an option or does limited land put the brakes on that?
Oh man, dont get a Hawaii resident started on rail. We have had a light rail under construction since 2008. It was originally supposed to cost 4 billion with federal subsidies. Projected cost now is 10 billion, and the federal money is no longer guaranteed because the rail is under federal investigation for mismanagement. Keep in mind the entire route (which has even been shortened due to difficulties) was ONLY 24 miles...
10 billion for 24 miles of rail...
Our taxes have been raised indefinitely, our traffic snarled, businesses affected by over a decade of construction, and the independent traffic studies that have been done say the rail will do next to nothing to improve traffic.
Ever see The Simpsons Monorail episode? That's Honolulu, Hawaii in real life.
Honolulu's traffic congestion has recently dropped to the 18th nationwide: New report says Honolulu
Maybe Honolulu is not getting any better, but the other cities are getting worse.
Honolulu's rail under construction has just earned the "honor" to be the front page story of Wall Street Journal with such title: How a Train Through Paradise Turned Into a $9 Billion Debacle https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-a-2...le-11553270393
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