Where is the worst traffic in Austin? (Round Rock, Cedar Park: transplants, real estate)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by pmiranda

On Kauai the major highway doesn't have a median so they accomplish this feat by just moving a bunch of cones mid-day :-)

That would be the island with fewer than 70,000 residents?

[Melissa78703]

I live in Old West Austin, and I used to think that it was just my area of town that was bad. Guess what? It's the entire city! It's craptastic. Well, drive far enough north or south (around 40 miles in each direction from the city center, and only then does the traffic assuage).

People look at me funny whenever I tell them that I take public transportation. It's either spend 30 minutes in my car (+10 extra minutes trolling around for parking) or 30 minutes in the bus enjoying my Kindle. Guess which one I'll always choose?

[sxrckr]

Agree on the bus!

[qwertyasdf]

Where the freeway part of 290 ends and on up to the light at Wm Cannon and on out to the Y in Oak Hill is always busy and congested. I don't know that it's the busiest in town in terms of numbers, but it is certainly one of the most congested short stretches of road in the entire Austin metro area.

So many vehicles, so few lanes.

I don't live out that way but I work there and see it first hand 5 days a week.

[G Grasshopper]

There are lots of areas of bad traffic, but I agree that 35 is the worst. I don't live near it, but when I have to drive it to get to an appointment, it is always a mess, and I am always glad to get off. As well as being almost constantly snarled, it is also pretty ugly. At least if you are stuck in backup on MoPac, there are frequently nice views. (And MoPac isn't always stopped, as 35 is.)

[Uberguber]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

There are lots of areas of bad traffic, but I agree that 35 is the worst. I don't live near it, but when I have to drive it to get to an appointment, it is always a mess, and I am always glad to get off. As well as being almost constantly snarled, it is also pretty ugly. At least if you are stuck in backup on MoPac, there are frequently nice views. (And MoPac isn't always stopped, as 35 is.)

Good to know the views make it worth sitting in traffic. Which views are you talking about though? The 1/2 mile over the Barton Creek? What about the other 40 miles of Mopac?

another point - the fast-tracked SH45 SW that's getting built. It's going to dump I-35 traffic onto Mopac at Circle C. Get ready for and additonal 30,000 cars per day squeezing on the 2 lane highway through there. Construction could start his year, 2015 at the latest.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Uberguber

Good to know the views make it worth sitting in traffic. Which views are you talking about though? The 1/2 mile over the Barton Creek? What about the other 40 miles of Mopac?

another point - the fast-tracked SH45 SW that's getting built. It's going to dump I-35 traffic onto Mopac at Circle C. Get ready for and additonal 30,000 cars per day squeezing on the 2 lane highway through there. Construction could start his year, 2015 at the latest.

Fast-tracked? We moved here in '08 and they had that on the agenda. Guess that IS pretty fast for the south side, given those dangling flyovers that sat for years.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Uberguber

the fast-tracked SH45 SW that's getting built. It's going to dump I-35 traffic onto Mopac at Circle C. Get ready for and additonal 30,000 cars per day squeezing on the 2 lane highway through there. Construction could start his year, 2015 at the latest.

1. SH 45 does not connect to 35. It ends at FM 1826.

2. Traffic studies do not support your claims:

Building the long-awaited SH 45 SW road in southern Travis County would not create any additional traffic congestion, according to a traffic modeling study discussed at a Dec. 9 Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting.

Traffic would even improve slightly on Brodie Lane, Manchaca Road and South First Avenue if SH 45 SW were built, Duthie said. This could be because drivers needing to get to MoPac would no longer need to use those roads to access MoPac.

“It’s just a shift in behavior,” she said. “[MoPac] is already at capacity so we’re not seeing more.”

Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty has been advocating for the construction of the road for the past 16 years.

“So the people that live in Circle C that continue to say if you build 45 SW that you will create more traffic north of Slaughter because of people coming off 45 SW, this clearly shows this is not the case,” he said.

The traffic over 45 to Mopac is already going there, so there isn't any increase. All that would change is they would no longer use Slaughter and Brodie to get there.

[Uberguber]

so it's going to reduce traffic on South First, Brodie and Manchaca - but will NOT increase traffic on Mopac? wow! like magic.

[Westerner92]

In my experience, Downtown during the rush hours is the worst in town, particularly Guadalupe and MLK. Even on I-35, it at least takes less than 20 minutes to go a mile.