Is traffic really that bad in Austin (Houston, Dallas: how much, homes)

[hilsmom]

sorry, not trying to highjack my neighbor's post!

I have been wondering about the schools in Crestview, though - we have a child about to start K and really have fallen in love with Gullett based on reviews and the website. That is why we are focused there if we choose a downtown area rather than a suburban neighborhood.

[spelrod]

When talking about traffic you can't compare to NYC, LA, DC, etc... to Austin. We are the 35th largest metro and you're bringing up the 1st, 2nd and 8th largest? Of COURSE their traffic is most likely worse. Anyone who uses that grapefruit to grape comparison are fooling themselves.

[curious1111]

having driven in traffic in all these places...

Yes - Austin is absolutely positively TERRIBLE for traffic

[gcrissman]

Originally Posted by spelrod

When talking about traffic you can't compare to NYC, LA, DC, etc... to Austin. We are the 35th largest metro and you're bringing up the 1st, 2nd and 8th largest? Of COURSE their traffic is most likely worse. Anyone who uses that grapefruit to grape comparison are fooling themselves.

I understand the size difference and comprehend the difference hence why I originally asked for comments from those who have experience in other cities.

In DC every road/street is jammed, The Capitol Beltway, I95, I270, I70, I66, the toll road, the Greenway, and The GW Parkway to name a few of the major roads. There is traffic for 60 miles from the center of DC, sometimes further. Some are even backed up for those with the revers commute so you just stay off the roads from 7:30 to 9am and 4-7pm unless you have to be on them. So I was trying to figure out if its the same in Austin.

I am originally from the Pittsburgh area and they consider a 25 minute 15 mile commute to be bad where as I see that as a walk in the park. So its about perspective and I was trying to get some of the newcomers to Austin to give me theirs.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by hilsmom

sorry, not trying to highjack my neighbor's post!

I have been wondering about the schools in Crestview, though - we have a child about to start K and really have fallen in love with Gullett based on reviews and the website. That is why we are focused there if we choose a downtown area rather than a suburban neighborhood.

Pretty sure Gullett has room for more transfers. You could also look at the elementary in Brykerwoods. There's one in Hyde Park also that's very good but the name escapes me. Honestly, living in the core city opens up quite a few quality elementary school options to you to find the best fit for your child since most are not at capacity and can take transfers.

[hilsmom]

but doing a transfer defeats the purpose of living in a walkable neighborhood. I want a walkable neighborhood where I can get a decent sized (1700-2000 sf) single family home for less than $400K and be able to walk to schools, parks and restaurants.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by gcrissman

I understand the size difference and comprehend the difference hence why I originally asked for comments from those who have experience in other cities.

In DC every road/street is jammed, The Capitol Beltway, I95, I270, I70, I66, the toll road, the Greenway, and The GW Parkway to name a few of the major roads. There is traffic for 60 miles from the center of DC, sometimes further. Some are even backed up for those with the revers commute so you just stay off the roads from 7:30 to 9am and 4-7pm unless you have to be on them. So I was trying to figure out if its the same in Austin.

I am originally from the Pittsburgh area and they consider a 25 minute 15 mile commute to be bad where as I see that as a walk in the park. So its about perspective and I was trying to get some of the newcomers to Austin to give me theirs.

If you are accostomed to DC traffic then Austin will be a breeze. We have traffic, it's only going to get worse, it is nothing like DC. Give us a few years though.

The main difference here is, traffic can be avoided for the most part. We have more "bottlenecks" then we have actualy bad traffic. Bottlenecks can be avoided.

[mimimomx3]

Misery is relative. Austin traffic has become horrible to anyone who has lived here for more than 10 years. Is it worse than LA, NY, DC? No. But it's bad. It used to be you could rip up and down Mopac in 15 minutes from 183 to the river. Now in rush hour it can take an hour. So, yes, we long time Austinites say traffic sucks.
Add to the problem that there really isn't anywhere to build out new roads and affordable housing is built in the suburbs, at the end of the highway.

[cmacemm]

Originally Posted by sinking

This was filmed here. I doubt they had to stage the traffic.

that was filmed off 635 in Dallas, you can see galleria towers in the background

[mark311]

Originally Posted by cmacemm

that was filmed off 635 in Dallas, you can see galleria towers in the background

This has been brought up before. There are some traffic scenes that were filmed in Dallas, but most of the traffic jam scenes at the beginning of the movie were filmed on Braker near Burnet. You can clearly see JJ Pickle Research in the background (not saying that you can see it in that shot). Of course this was way before Austin had traffic that bad (1999) so it was definitely staged.