Another day, another list: PGH a top city for commuters (Pittsburgh: real estate, neighborhoods)

[BrianTH]

Here is the link:

15 Cities for People Who Hate Driving and Long Commutes - Yahoo! Real Estate

They were looking for cities over 50,000 in population with shorter-than-average commutes but also a relatively high percentage of nondriving commutes (walking, biking, and public transit). Not surprisingly the list was heavy on college towns, but the bigger mixed-use cities on the list were Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Portland (OR), and Honolulu. Here is the writeup for Pittsburgh:

Pittsburgh
Average commute time: 23.1 minutes
Non-car commuters: 33.5 percent

Some cities, like New York, have uncommonly extensive Public Transportation systems but also uncommonly huge populaces. Delays are inevitable in any transportation system with so much demand. Pittsburgh is a bit of an anomaly in that it is not a massive city-the population is just over 300,000, with a metro area of 2.4 million-but it has a large public transit system for its size. Pittsburgh's transit system, the Port Authority of Allegheny County, has a daily ridership of 240,000 on its buses and light rail. The city also has one of the largest bus rapid transit systems in the country, with three bus-only highways. Its light rail system has the 16th-most passenger miles traveled of any light rail in the country, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

This is one of the benefits of the recent local population issues following the steel bust--we have legacy public transportation infrastructure that is relatively high-capacity and extensive given our current size. That said, I think we are reaching the point where we need to be making significant new investments in public transportation (and also walking and biking) in order to maintain this relatively favorable ranking.

[bradjl2009]

I think the major cuts, while far reaching will do a lot to speed up transit commuting times and improve service quality for most people.

[Katarina Witt]

I can't believe they included Minneapolis! That place has one of the worst traffic problems I have ever seen. The freeways turn into parking lots at rush hour. The write up on Boulder was pretty hokey, too, and a bit factually, well, stretched. That said, did they get it right about Pittsburgh?

[BrianTH]

Reading around a bit, it appears the reason that average commutes in Minneapolis are relatively low is that the rush hour congestion problems are localized and often avoidable.

I'd be interested in finding out what is allegedly factually inaccurate about their writeup for Boulder.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Reading around a bit, it appears the reason that average commutes in Minneapolis are relatively low is that the rush hour congestion problems are localized and often avoidable.

I'd be interested in finding out what is allegedly factually inaccurate about their writeup for Boulder.

I think Mpls looks good on paper, but not in practice. I have been there for many a rush hour. You can't always avoid the congested areas, depending on where you are and where you have to go.

Re: Boulder, I said "stretched". The RTD is not Boulder's bus company, it encompasses all of Denver and Broomfield Counties, and parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson and Weld Counties. If Boulder itself had to provide bus service, I don't think it would have the tax base to provide so many routes. Those buses with the cutesy names are "circulator" buses that circulate within a small area. Most of the RTD buses have numbers. Boulder may have a lot of people biking around, but it also has approximately one car per person.

[BrianTH]

Obviously individual commutes will vary greatly from the averages in any area.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I can't believe they included Minneapolis! That place has one of the worst traffic problems I have ever seen. The freeways turn into parking lots at rush hour. The write up on Boulder was pretty hokey, too, and a bit factually, well, stretched. That said, did they get it right about Pittsburgh?

That number still surprises me a bit to be totally frank. There's no doubt in my mind that it is heavily driven down by the pretty short commute time between downtown and eastern neighborhoods. People living in the same neighborhood they work in probably has a similar effect.

Growing up in one, I would still think that commute times for the regions second and third tier suburbs are between 40 to 60 minutes. The three major highway tunnels account for probably three of the area's four greatest traffic snarls. The last one being Route 28 and the fact that was essentially carries the traffic of a true limited-access highway has two traffic lights close to downtown.

As far as I know, only route 28 has any specific upgrade plans: the two traffic light intersections at river bridges are planned to be upgraded to two truly free-flowing highway interchanges. With all the tunnels, I'm sure throughout the decades there have been proposals to widen them, but obviously none of this has come to fruition. I'm sure the cost of such plans would be astronomical, but are really the only practical solution in terms of upgrading our highway system's traffic issues.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by Impala26

With all the tunnels, I'm sure throughout the decades there have been proposals to widen them, but obviously none of this has come to fruition. I'm sure the cost of such plans would be astronomical, but are really the only practical solution in terms of upgrading our highway system's traffic issues.

There is no need to widen the tunnels. People are to damn afraid of driving their cars around here. I've gone over 120 mph through the Fort Pitt Tunnel late at night with no problem. Your cars will fit through the tunnel. Keep off your brakes, maintain speed just as the signs say, and drive through the damn tunnels for Gods sake!

[Tiger Beer]

Granted, this was 1994-1995, but I use to live in Minneapolis.

I lived just slightly south of downtown Minneapolis and had to drive over to 'Dinkytown' which is between MPLS & St. Paul.

It's been awhile, but I really don't recall or remember ever feeling stressed about traffic in Minneapolis. Maybe it's changed a lot since then, I am unsure...but every other city I've ever lived in the U.S. seemed much worse.

I've never heard anyone say any city was 'good', so we have to keep that in mind. All cities are bad with traffic, just some are a little better than others.

[Katarina Witt]

^^^Even though this is the Pittsburgh forum, I thought I'd post this:

Traffic congestion: Twin Cities 10th worst in nation | StarTribune.com

Even before the collapse of the I-35 bridge, it was 13th worst in the country, according to this article.

You must have been in one of the luckier situations.