How bad is the traffic really, when compared to other big cities?

[Finger Laker]

a lot of it out here depends on where you live

i work downtown and if I leave during normal rush hours my 22 mile commute is usually about 1:15 ...... in the summer this drops to 45 minutes .......... off peak times it drops to 30 minutes

this morning I left at 6:45 and got to work at 8:15

my coworkers coming in from chandler/gilbert/mesa have the same issues

I usually stay closer to 6 at night and watch my commute drop to about 45 minutes

if I leave at 5 it takes about 20 minutes to get on the highway - covering 2.5 miles

my wife goes in the other direction for work and it takes her 10-15 minutes each way

i've lived in philly & denver and do a lot of business in other cities that require me to be on the road ........... phoenix is worst than most of them

LA by far kills all though as the traffic is horrible and alternatives are light

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by casualobserver

I am looking at a job prospect near Kierland and N. Scottsdale Rd.

If Hootie's formula is about right, how far north do you think I could go to live and keep the commute to not too much more than 30 minutes?.....DC Ranch.....Troon........Cave Creek?

Could I also put Fountain Hills into play to the east?

Thanks in advance.

My office is very near to Kierland & N. Scottsdale Rd. It usually takes me about 20-25 minutes (off-peak and on-peak hours) from my office to Shea & Palisades intersection in Fountain Hills.

[casualobserver]

Thank you SpaceNeedle, that's very comforting to know I have that area for consideration.

Does anyone else happen to run up and down Pima Road for their rush hour commute? I'm initially attracted to the DC Ranch area too, but don't know if southbound Pima bogs down with traffic at 8am.

[jlzpo1]

Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts

Phoenix traffic is better than Boston traffic, however there are a lot of aggressive drivers in Phoenix, a lot of tailgating, dangerous lane changing, and distressingly frequent road accidents. I would say the drivers are as aggressive as the worst places I have been--NYC and Boston. I guess there are lots of Easterners here. But I'm told Californians today are extremely aggressive as well; didn't used to but it's been a long time since I've driven in that state. 101 gridlock is milder than Massachusetts 128 gridlock, where you can literally sit still for 45 minutes. Phoenix signage is much better, and the zipper lanes are fantastic. It was probably a lot nicer here 10-15 years ago in terms of crowdedness and driver courtesy, oh well.

Thanks for this reply- very useful for a person moving from Boston to PHX. I'd rather slit my throat than having to go through another Rte 128 from the Southshore experience in PHX.

[shilo0854]

We have built a LOT of freeway in the past 10-15 years. That does help. When I moved down in "72" we had one basic freeway as far as I know.