ATX Traffic - How bad is it REALLY? (Houston, Dallas: 2015, house)

[rayndgo]

Alot of people have been ranting about ATX traffic lately, and from what I have seen so far I can attest that their might be some frustrating traffic but in comparison to lets say Los Angeles (which is where I currently live) which has the #1 worst traffic in the US and #10 worst in the country.

I know for a smaller city that was not built to handle the heavy influx of new comers might cause some frustrating traffic..but it's a city..and most cities have traffic.

Facts and data can't be beaten so I wanted to start this thread to see the reality of it before visiting/potentially moving. (this would be one of the very few downsides of living there im sure)

I have some screen shots of google maps during rush hour here in LA and some pics. Take a look!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rezjbf6k78...%20PM.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7m16ra1zzx...%20PM.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jz0mslogz4...ender.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8n9ybidv10...der_2.jpg?dl=0

[bpvarian]

Originally Posted by rayndgo

Alot of people have been ranting about ATX traffic lately, and from what I have seen so far I can attest that their might be some frustrating traffic but in comparison to lets say Los Angeles (which is where I currently live) which has the #1 worst traffic in the US and #10 worst in the country.

You mean world?..... You should edit your post.

[wpme]

I'd rather burn myself with a red hot poker 100 times than driving in Austin

[rayndgo]

Originally Posted by bpollard

You mean world?..... You should edit your post.

Yeah sorry, I wrote this thread super quick. Thanks for pointing that out agent grammar.

Anyway, how about someone actually talk some facts here..how bad really is it compared to what I posted. I drive in that every single morning and night, and pretty much on the weekend when I want to go out somewhere. I'm just trying to understand if it is just as bad there because if not, I'll be good!

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by rayndgo

Yeah sorry, I wrote this thread super quick. Thanks for pointing that out agent grammar.

Anyway, how about someone actually talk some facts here..how bad really is it compared to what I posted. I drive in that every single morning and night, and pretty much on the weekend when I want to go out somewhere. I'm just trying to understand if it is just as bad there because if not, I'll be good!

Traffic is significantly worse than it used to be, but objectively not nearly as bad as many posters here make out: nowhere near as congested as a place like LA, and according to recent studies, significantly less than in Dallas or Houston. That said, if at all possible, I would organize my life in such a way that I NEVER needed to be on 35, Mopac, 183 during rush hour…


100 Congested Roadways

[theone33]

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

[mark311]

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.

[spchtx]

I really think a lot of it is perspective. We have really tried to avoid the traffic at peak rush hour times, but that's a little easier to do as our jobs haven't started yet. I have driven in L.A. traffic, (ok, honestly I was the passenger, because there was no way I wanted to drive in that mess!) and L.A. traffic seems a lot worse over a larger area.

It's all perspective though! The traffic here can get really ugly, and if this is your only perspective of bad traffic, then I imagine it can seem like the worst traffic anywhere. My first kiddo seemed so tiny when she was born at 6 lbs. That perspective completely changed when my second was born at 1 lb 6 oz.

I will have to agree with others that have complained about the dang lights. I felt like we sat at a light the other day for 10 minutes, and we were the second car in line.

[Rynldsbr]

One of the challenges here is the geography. The lake presents a barrier that prevents development of many options for North/South traffic. There are a few points that I think make the traffic here more understandable.
- Being the primary N/S route into and through the city, I-35 is overcrowded and should be avoided at almost any time.
- 130 (toll) is underutilized and most of the time can be traveled at 80 mph without a problem.
- Traveling through the city is the biggest challenge. If you can find a place to live on the same side of the city as your employment, avoiding the center of the city (and the lake) commutes are average compared to most metro areas.

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. I can count on one hand the times I have taken more than an hour. Toll road is an option to cut five minutes off my commute but I am too much of a tightwad to pay $5 a day to save a few minutes.

[centralaustinite]

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.