Phoenix one of the least congested big cities (Prescott: 2013, living)

[ShampooBanana]

Saw this article in Phoenix Business News:
Study finds Phoenix one of least-congested cities in the country - Phoenix Business Journal

I think some people don't realize how good we really have it. Having lived in Chicago for years it was a breath of fresh air when I moved to Phoenix. I've also lived near DC and it's also far worse than anything we have here. A combination of good weather, nice highway infrastructure (lots of lanes plus HOV), traffic control measures (lights at on ramps), few geographic barriers, and a good surface street grid all helps a lot.

Could it be better? Sure. But for a city of 4.5 million people, it's pretty darn good.

[thatguyoverther]

Agreed!

[autism360]

100% agree and the reason is Phoenix is one of the newest big cities in the USA and so it had the benefit of preplanning.

This is one of the largest benefits of living here, most other large cities were built for a few hundred thousand people or less and then they patched and added to accomodate the increasing population. There was no thought put into future growth especially the East coast cities.

[jerseyexpat]

I think Arizonans should keep it a secret, don't want everyone rushing to Arizona. On the national level, Arizona doesn't get talked about much in terms of technology and business, but I know Intel is there and Apple is going to AZ soon.

[KurtAZ]

No no no...our rush hour is horrible...it lasts for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon. It will take you an hour to go 10 miles. [off topic for this thread]

[shiphead]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

Saw this article in Phoenix Business News:
Study finds Phoenix one of least-congested cities in the country - Phoenix Business Journal

I think some people don't realize how good we really have it. Having lived in Chicago for years it was a breath of fresh air when I moved to Phoenix. I've also lived near DC and it's also far worse than anything we have here. A combination of good weather, nice highway infrastructure (lots of lanes plus HOV), traffic control measures (lights at on ramps), few geographic barriers, and a good surface street grid all helps a lot.

Could it be better? Sure. But for a city of 4.5 million people, it's pretty darn good.

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

No no no...our rush hour is horrible...it lasts for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon. It will take you an hour to go 10 miles.

It says Phoenix, not Phoenix-area. So every area that does have traffic is ignored. Fabulous. I am not sure I would own a car if I lived in shy town. The same goes if I lived in the bay area.

[Transplanted Michigander]

Traffic here isn't that bad.

[autism360]

No no no...our rush hour is horrible...it lasts for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon. It will take you an hour to go 10 miles. [off topic for this thread]

I drove cab for a while and never saw a 4 hour period where traffic was jammed up unless there was a major accident.

[Voebe]

Least congested = dreadful sprawl?

[corydon]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

Could it be better? Sure. But for a city of 4.5 million people, it's pretty darn good.

Originally Posted by jerseyexpat

I think Arizonans should keep it a secret, don't want everyone rushing to Arizona. .

I think the secret is out for a while now....
BTW, Chicago is not bad at all since all the toll boots have 4 lanes for the easy pass, pay at 55 MPH.

Phoenix has that great advantage, no snow, or rain. So, no salt on roads and bridges. That saves a lot repairs. There is a reason RR bridges last so long, No salt.
But the time you save for having no traffic jams, you lose for distance.......
The longest traffic jam I have ever seen was in AZ. A church van had an accident on I 17, the first exit coming from Flag to Phoenix, north of Phoenix. Traffic was backed up to the Prescott exit, and that is a long way.... I was going NB.
This was around 2000.