And You Think Austin Has Bad Rush Hour Traffic (Round Rock: apartment complex, neighborhoods)

[centralaustinite]

the summer commute is definitely shorter and easier! Rynldsbr, you should consider whatever commute you time now to be the fastest possible time.

I go 8 miles through the heart of Austin (Oltorf to St. John's) on I35 each day. Takes 12-15 minutes in the morning. Afternoon, is something else.

[je4xff]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Wow, that's crazy. 8 miles in 1 hr? That means going 8mph the whole way? Austin traffic is bad, but I don't ever recall anything like that.

Yes 360 is especially bad, granted one of the main problems was that the office was on Las Cimas Pkwy, which is essentially a street with many large office buildings and only one light that lets out to 360 going north. At rush hour, there is a mass of people leaving at the same time and a light that only lets 10-12 cars out at a time. That in itself takes 10 minutes or more. (Sometimes cars on 360 will even get stuck in the intersection as their light turns red, blocking cars trying to enter from Las Cimas). Then there's the bottleneck at the 360 bridge that backs for miles, and finally the bottleneck at 183 that backs for miles (even worse during Christmas time with all the tree decoration crowds). So ten minutes to get out of the office, and another 40-50 minutes of several very long, slow moving lines.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by je4xff

Yes 360 is especially bad, granted one of the main problems was that the office was on Las Cimas Pkwy, which is essentially a street with many large office buildings and only one light that lets out to 360 going north. At rush hour, there is a mass of people leaving at the same time and a light that only lets 10-12 cars out at a time. That in itself takes 10 minutes or more. (Sometimes cars on 360 will even get stuck in the intersection as their light turns red, blocking cars trying to enter from Las Cimas). Then there's the bottleneck at the 360 bridge that backs for miles, and finally the bottleneck at 183 that backs for miles (even worse during Christmas time with all the tree decoration crowds). So ten minutes to get out of the office, and another 40-50 minutes of several very long, slow moving lines.

Gotta pay for those rolling hills and views, I reckon.

[Down Lo Ho]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

Waze is awesome - it was developed here in Tel Aviv. The best part? You can change the navigator's voice to Elvis mode.

I commute about 9 miles each day into downtown, and it's about 35-40 minutes. That's pretty standard across the city from what I've heard.

How do you change to Elvis mode?? Never heard of that an have been an avid user for almost three years..sounds fun though!

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by je4xff

Yes 360 is especially bad, granted one of the main problems was that the office was on Las Cimas Pkwy, which is essentially a street with many large office buildings and only one light that lets out to 360 going north.

Yeah, I feel sorry for some of those people in the office buildings on 360. Especially the ones that need to make a u-turn to go where they want to go.

So you lived and worked on 360?

[LiveUrban]

Luckily, I don't really deal with traffic. I bike to work and most everything I need is within a short distance of my home with no need to access the major highways. The few times where I have to drive out to other parts of Austin during Rush Hour, it's awful!

I'm really looking forward to the day we'll have commuter rail lines coming in from the far reaches of the city giving us a means to bypass traffic.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by LiveUrban

Luckily, I don't really deal with traffic. I bike to work and most everything I need is within a short distance of my home with no need to access the major highways. The few times where I have to drive out to other parts of Austin during Rush Hour, it's awful!

I'm really looking forward to the day we'll have commuter rail lines coming in from the far reaches of the city giving us a means to bypass traffic.

You plan on living a very long time, I reckon.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by je4xff

Yes 360 is especially bad, granted one of the main problems was that the office was on Las Cimas Pkwy, which is essentially a street with many large office buildings and only one light that lets out to 360 going north. At rush hour, there is a mass of people leaving at the same time and a light that only lets 10-12 cars out at a time. That in itself takes 10 minutes or more. (Sometimes cars on 360 will even get stuck in the intersection as their light turns red, blocking cars trying to enter from Las Cimas). Then there's the bottleneck at the 360 bridge that backs for miles, and finally the bottleneck at 183 that backs for miles (even worse during Christmas time with all the tree decoration crowds). So ten minutes to get out of the office, and another 40-50 minutes of several very long, slow moving lines.

So is it legal to block an intersection like this in Tx? In the UK and California this is against the law.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

So is it legal to block an intersection like this in Tx? In the UK and California this is against the law.

No, it's not legal, but some people either ignored that part of driver's ed or think it doesn't apply to them.

You're supposed to not enter the intersection unless the car in front of you can clear it because the statutes preclude you from stopping in an intersection with a few exceptions that do not include "if I get in the intersection even though I know I can't get out of it before the light changes and I'll have to wait through another light". This, however, requires you not to ride right on the tail of the car in front of you and be a good enough driver to judge the traffic ahead of you so that you don't enter the intersection and get stuck blocking it.

[je4xff]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Yeah, I feel sorry for some of those people in the office buildings on 360. Especially the ones that need to make a u-turn to go where they want to go.

Yep, I had that situation in the past and it's equally painful.

Originally Posted by atxcio

So you lived and worked on 360?

Yeppers (well no one really lives on 360, but within 1/4 mile anyways). Gives me much less room to complain than those making the trek to Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock...