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Old 07-30-2015, 08:46 AM
 
2,627 posts, read 6,547,987 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rynldsbr View Post
Personal experience is 20 miles on surface streets from N burbs to N Austin is 35 minutes working 7 am to 4 pm. If I am late getting out of work and have to leave after 4:15 my commute becomes 45 - 55 minutes.
Timing is definitely key. Starting work at 8am or 9am changes things quite a bit in my experience and leaving work at 5pm or 5:30pm does as well. You're just missing the "real" rush hour by about 30 minutes each way.
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Old 07-30-2015, 09:01 AM
 
389 posts, read 419,589 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rynldsbr View Post
- 130 (toll) is underutilized and most of the time can be traveled at 80 mph without a problem.
The first time we took 130 it was on a Sunday afternoon. I think we saw a handful of cars between Pflugerville, and the executive airport. I have dubbed it, "If we build it, they will come" toll road.
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Old 07-30-2015, 09:24 AM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,449,279 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spchtx View Post
The first time we took 130 it was on a Sunday afternoon. I think we saw a handful of cars between Pflugerville, and the executive airport. I have dubbed it, "If we build it, they will come" toll road.
There's plenty of congestion on 130 during rush hour, especially between 71 and 45...maybe not every day; but I've seen it pretty crowded on more than a few trips this year.
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Old 07-30-2015, 09:49 AM
 
Location: Austin
52 posts, read 50,993 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by centralaustinite View Post
It depends on what exact time you are driving and where exactly you are going. Once a month for the past 7 years I have a meeting 8 miles north of my house at 6 pm on a weekday. It takes me at least 40 minutes to make those 8 miles, sometimes more, closer to 50 minutes. Coming back at 7:30 or so, I make the reverse drive in about 12 minutes.

The real kicker is that the traffic on the day you arrive will probably be the best traffic you experience. It will only get slower and more congested, there is no real relief. Any new lanes/roads will immediately be past capacity.
In general I haven't found the traffic to be as bad as I heard about ahead of time, but I agree 1000% with the part in bold. The biggest problem areas are either 1)restricted and don't have room to add additional lanes or 2)so poorly designed that fixing them would be a huge mess.

I don't drive I-35 a ton so I can't comment on that much, but it's just baffling with the number of lights on 183 and 360. Those roads should have been freeways from the start. On top of that, the intersection from 71 onto 360 is equally maddening.
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Old 07-30-2015, 10:02 AM
 
Location: The People's Republic of Austin
5,184 posts, read 7,240,558 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by centralaustinite View Post
Any new lanes/roads will immediately be past capacity.
That just isn't true. Ben White from 35 to Mopac was upgraded to a freeway in about 1998. Seventeen years later, it is never at capacity.

So much for the "induced demand" theory.
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Old 07-30-2015, 10:03 AM
 
2,602 posts, read 2,961,116 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveHolt View Post
Those roads should have been freeways from the start.

Define "start".

183 is like 60 years old or more.

Should it have been a freeway when Austin was 1/10 it's current size and 183 was far outside the city limits?
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Old 07-30-2015, 01:15 PM
 
1,059 posts, read 2,212,927 times
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I avoid going North to South as much as possible.
My hubs unfortunately goes N to S and its a nightmare so he leaves about 6:30am and doesn't bother leaving his office before 6pm - it sucks - we were discussing the soon to be opened MoPac toll lanes. He currently takes 183 to 360 but he may opt for the new toll lanes if it will substantially lessen his drive time. We will have to wait and see on this one.

I commute West to East (Leander to Round Rock) and I never have issues.

I'm from the San Francisco Bay area and while Austin traffic has areas that make me crazy (I-35 pretty much anytime) there are many areas that are not bumper to bumper congested. Many of these areas are near downtown or are the main arteries but the burbs are not all bad.

Last edited by mamacatnv; 07-30-2015 at 01:27 PM..
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Old 07-30-2015, 02:14 PM
 
Location: East TX
2,116 posts, read 3,024,105 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mamacatnv View Post
I avoid going North to South as much as possible.
My hubs unfortunately goes N to S and its a nightmare so he leaves about 6:30am and doesn't bother leaving his office before 6pm - it sucks - we were discussing the soon to be opened MoPac toll lanes. He currently takes 183 to 360 but he may opt for the new toll lanes if it will substantially lessen his drive time. We will have to wait and see on this one.

I commute West to East (Leander to Round Rock) and I never have issues.

I'm from the San Francisco Bay area and while Austin traffic has areas that make me crazy (I-35 pretty much anytime) there are many areas that are not bumper to bumper congested. Many of these areas are near downtown or are the main arteries but the burbs are not all bad.
Those soon to be opened toll lanes are now delayed up to a year.
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Old 07-30-2015, 03:35 PM
 
Location: LA
84 posts, read 85,588 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by theone33 View Post
The thing is...theres no other freeways or side streets to use. You have to sit in it and cant even attempt a different route
I get that. It may seem like because LA has a bunch of freeways and side streets but in all reality..you can't go against the grain here. It gets so bad that all the smart people take the side streets and those are 1 ways and they are bumper to bumper, don't move at all etc. Not every freeway goes to your destination lol. I'm bound to the freeways and side streets that go to my house. It took me a year to find really good back ways on some streets but that only cuts my commute time about 5-10 minutes if I am lucky.
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Old 07-30-2015, 03:37 PM
 
Location: LA
84 posts, read 85,588 times
Reputation: 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark311 View Post
I've driven a lot in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and Austin and a couple years in the Bay area. The Austin area during rush hour can definitely compete with certain areas in all of those cities. It's just a little different because it's a smaller city. It can easily take me about an hour to get home from work during rush hour and I live in Cedar Park which is 19 miles from work. Let's say you worked in Irvine and lived in Buena Park. That's about 20 miles. How long would that drive take you during rush hour? I haven't driven there for a normal commute in about 11 years, so I'm genuinely curious.
20 miles for me would for sure take 2+ hours. My commute is only 11 miles and it takes me an hour...it's rough here. I should also point out that i HAVE to be an aggressive but "in control" driver here and if I didn't my commute would be longer lol.
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