Do potential newcomers realize how big the Phoenix metro area is? (Mesa: transplants, houses)

[TheWestIsTheBest]

Originally Posted by mjd2k

If someone decides a dust storm/accident/whatever, is worthy of their slowing down, then they determine the rate traffic will flow. Drives me crazy but thats life.

Yup drives me crazy too when intelligent drivers exercise prudence by slowing down when conditions warrant it. Used to tick me off up north when they slowed down in blizzards or there was ice on the road.

[dacubz]

Just got back to Chicago from a week in Phoenix a few days ago. Rush hour in the valley is child's play compared to Chicago rush hour traffic.

[miamiman]

The urbanized Phoenix are takes up a lot of land, but is still not what I would consider a big city. Traffic here flows extremely well for a city of this size. In most major cities there are random traffic backups on the weekends just due to the sheer number of vehicles. In Phoenix that just doesn't happen unless there is an accident or some lanes are blocked for some reason. But yes, if you're traveling from Sun City Festival to San Tan Valley, you will be driving for a pretty long time.

[esnox82]

I have always said that I didn't understand the complaints about Phoenix traffic. Yes, it may be heavy, but it keeps moving. Try merging onto the Dan Ryan from the Skyway into Chicago and you won't complain at all. As far as the grid layout, it makes surface street diversions so much easier than in other big cities, and it doesn't take a Garmin to get from A to B if you are on the grid.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by dacubz

Just got back to Chicago from a week in Phoenix a few days ago. Rush hour in the valley is child's play compared to Chicago rush hour traffic.

Compared to Chicago, yes ... but you're talking about a metro area that has nearly 10 million people, in comparison to Phoenix metro's 4.5 million. An extra five million commuters on the roads does make a big difference. Also, you need to consider other factors like the weather & road conditions. How many times during the winter does Phoenix have traffic delays due to snow & ice?

Originally Posted by esnox82

I have always said that I didn't understand the complaints about Phoenix traffic. Yes, it may be heavy, but it keeps moving. Try merging onto the Dan Ryan from the Skyway into Chicago and you won't complain at all. As far as the grid layout, it makes surface street diversions so much easier than in other big cities, and it doesn't take a Garmin to get from A to B if you are on the grid.

Traffic moves pretty well for the most part during NON rush hour times ... however, during the peak commute times on weekdays, traffic doesn't always move at a steady pace. Try driving west on the 202 toward the 51/10 interchange during the afternoons or early evenings: traffic is usually at a standstill. Same on the westbound 10, northbound 17 ... or here's the best one: the Broadway curve right before the 10/60 interchange!

Most of all, what makes commuting in & around Phoenix one of the worst in the nation is the fact that so many people live far away from their jobs. They could work somewhere like Tempe and live in Surprise ... or work in downtown Phoenix and live in Queen Creek. But those people chose to live so far away from their workplaces, so their lengthy commute is really their own doing.

[jessrscott]

To answer the OP's question, my husband and I thought we knew how big the Phoenix metro area is, but it didn't actually sink in until we were house-hunting and he wanted to be within 30 minutes of his work, which is right in the middle of downtown Phoenix. We were thinking since his job was centrally located, drawing a 30 minute perimeter around that would let us live pretty much anywhere. We were SHOCKED at how many homes were eliminated from our search (definitely 75% or so) just by putting in that filter.

Also, with the Scottsdale issue, we didn't think of it as being snobby or anything like that, but (and this relates to another thing that surprised us) we quickly saw what a huge difference your suburb makes in terms of what your money will get you. To live in Scottsdale, we would have needed to go at the top of our budget for something less than half the size of what we have now and have a high HOA payment. By going southwest, we were able to get exactly what we wanted for significantly under budget. We will definitely be spending some evenings or Saturdays up in Scottsdale because it is a great town with awesome restaurants, fantastic shopping, and a wonderful downtown area, but we didn't want to pay the extra money to live there. That was our priority, whereas I know many others would choose differently.

Having spent time in big cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, St Louis, and LA, I definitely don't think the traffic here is bad for this size of a city. I am actually impressed at how great the infrastructure is and how logically and well thought out the roadway systems are. Most of the time it takes you to get from point A to point B is because of how spread out the city is, not because you are sitting in endless crawling traffic. Yes, rush hour can get congested, but it is nothing compared to other big cities with less logical infrastructure.

[stasi_crystals]

You read my mind. Another thing that really annoys me is this "suburban sprawl" bull junkie that newbs always bring up.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by jessrscott

Having spent time in big cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, St Louis, and LA, I definitely don't think the traffic here is bad for this size of a city. I am actually impressed at how great the infrastructure is and how logically and well thought out the roadway systems are. Most of the time it takes you to get from point A to point B is because of how spread out the city is, not because you are sitting in endless crawling traffic. Yes, rush hour can get congested, but it is nothing compared to other big cities with less logical infrastructure.

Phoenix does have a good grid system, and wide freeways that are maintained well for the most part. Those things help. Another factor is the weather. Most of the cities you mentioned have inclement weather for a good part of the year ... especially in the winter with ice, snow, and fog. Severe storms during the spring & summer are common in the Midwest & East. Weather plays a part in traffic conditions, and with the exception of a few dust storms & isolated flash floods, the Phoenix metro area really has very few weather related traffic delays. This allows traffic to move at a faster rate of speed, and that's why we tend to drive faster (no legitimate excuse for driving slow here much of the time).

Most of our congestion is during rush hour, and it can be a bear sometimes. But the biggest hassle with commuting in & around Phoenix is the amount of time it takes in driving because so many people choose to live far away from their jobs. However, as I stated before: if somebody works in Tempe or central Phoenix and lives in Maricopa, Anthem, Surprise, or some other far flung suburb, that's their own fault. They think they're saving money on housing by living on the fringes, but they really don't save that much when they factor in the cost of fuel in their daily commute.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by miamiman

The urbanized Phoenix are takes up a lot of land, but is still not what I would consider a big city. Traffic here flows extremely well for a city of this size. In most major cities there are random traffic backups on the weekends just due to the sheer number of vehicles. In Phoenix that just doesn't happen unless there is an accident or some lanes are blocked for some reason. But yes, if you're traveling from Sun City Festival to San Tan Valley, you will be driving for a pretty long time.

Not a big city? Maybe not when compared to New York but it's plenty big for me.

Have you ever driven on the I-10 during the peak of the morning and evening crush times? Or the 202 Loop in and out of Tempe?

The major backups are at the stack and mini-stack, and they're not always because of accidents or blocked lanes, just normal crush hour congestion. I drive this route every weekday and it can be a major headache.

Add a monsoon storm in the mix and we're taking serious backups.

[ShampooBanana]

Having lived in Chicago much of my life and been to many, many big cities througout the country, the "traffic" in Phoenix is child's play compared to most - ESPECIALLY for a city of it's size. Like Valley Native said, the infrastructure here is fantastic and actually overbuilt (to account for future population growth, I'm sure), so traffic flows smoothly 90% of the time. The backups you might experience during rush hour on I-10 from about the airport to US60 are about as bad as it gets for here and it's NOTHING compared to the any freeway in Chicago, DC, or LA during rush hour. I've experienced far worse traffic in places like Indianapolis, Detroit, Seattle, and Denver than I ever have here, and those are all much smaller metro areas than Phoenix. The quality of the roads here is about 5x better than any of those places, too (having no freeze/thaw cycle or road salts/snow plows certainly helps!). I think it took me all of about a month to figure out my way around most of Phoenix once I moved here.