Inside Driving Tip for Wilmington NC to avoid traffic (Jacksonville: car insurance, neighborhoods)
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For those in or headed to Wilmington NC I'll start by saying traffic here is minimal compared to so many other regions such as Northern Virginia/DC metro and much of the NE.
I figured out this driving tip to avoid congestion in Wilmington if you have the option. On the south side especially in 28412 you can head north with ZERO congestion in the mornings on Independence Ave to Market Street instead of taking S College St north to Market Street. If you live in 28409 close down to where S College meets Carolina Beach Rd then take the latter north to Independence and turn right. It's beautiful and I can't believe more locals haven't gotten this yet.
For those of you who live North of town in Hampstead, Holly Ridge, or Jacksonville areas, and drive to Wilmington; I am continually amazed at how little traffic the 17 bypass receives. I get off at I-40 and it takes me right into College, when I am heading to that part of town, or I follow it to it's current ending and it dumps me right downtown near my CFCC classes. Old time residents seem to continue, lemming-like, straight down a congested 17 to Market street into Wilmington.
For those in or headed to Wilmington NC I'll start by saying traffic here is minimal compared to so many other regions such as Northern Virginia/DC metro and much of the NE.
this is a good way to attract the hatred of locals: by comparing Wilmington to "where you came from", aka big cities up north.
In other news, traffic is also better here than in Mumbai or Sao Paulo; other places it makes no sense to compare Wilmington to.
this is a good way to attract the hatred of locals: by comparing Wilmington to "where you came from", aka big cities up north.
In other news, traffic is also better here than in Mumbai or Sao Paulo; other places it makes no sense to compare Wilmington to.
RIGHT ON.
Just because traffic is "not as bad as the Northeast" doesn't mean it's not traffic. It's like telling someone with a 3-day migraine "Hey it's not as bad as a kidney stone!"
The trafiic situation in DC or Long Island is irrelevant to most people in Wilmington, shocking as that may sound to some.
By the way the best app for driving and live feedback of traffic anywhere around you is WAZE. My sis-in-law was in traffic and late so wazed for a report and texted her, "Yeah the bridge is up right now." You can instantly check on real time reporting by others on the road exactly what is happening traffic wise around you including the speed of traffic flow in your area even if you're miles away. cool stuff for those that take routes way too seriously!
Think it's on the iPhone now--had originated on android.
As a native Wilmingtonian, I've learned that the traffic situation has become increasingly worse in the past years. So bad that the last time I visited New York City last year it wasnt even near as bad as Wilmington. Many things contribute in my opinion.
A) Tourists who don't know where they're going/don't know how to drive.
B) College kids who can't drive.
C) Retirees who can't drive.
D) The fast population increase.
E) Bad drivers in general. You have the tourists, students, retirees and plain old bad drivers. All of them contribute to many wrecks which cause congestion, and have made car insurance rates much higher in Wilmington than in the surrounding areas.
F) Road structure and planning. Who are Wilmington's metro planners? What are they thinking? Better yet, does Wilmington even HAVE metro/road planning? Well, the answer is yes, but they must be a bunch of monkeys running around an office all day. Roads are never widened, most of the place is two-four lanes, no freeways. We are just now getting our first true city interstate and toll road, and it won't even be ready completely until 2017! They better plan to widen 140 eventually once people start using it, the whole four land thing won't work. When Wilmington roads were made I assume the planners never expected it to grow and made roads that aren't able to handle this much traffic now. Now the MPA needs to get their head in the game. Also, another thing is that basically everyone has a car. Wilmington is like LA, where public transit is looked to as for peasants only, and it stays that way. Who wants to ride Wave Transit CFPTA buses? Only peasants who can't afford cars! Sadly, wave transit even offers friendly vans to carpool to work and save gas/energy/the environment, but not many people use them. I feel like Wilmington needs a subway-yes a subway. It will grow with the city, and a light rail would look out of place in Wilmington being pretty much flat as a pancake. Eventually, as Wilmington grows and becomes more dense, the subway grows, and more people ride it. Also, it will attract more people to move here who like the idea of public transit and create a wave effect.
One thing I don't understand about many people who move to Wilmington is...why don't they consider traffic when choosing where to live? There are plenty of perfectly good neighborhoods typically close to their job. It takes me about 8 minutes to get to work, but I have another colleague that is takes her 25....she's been doing it for over 10 years. Why not move closer to work?
BTW, I use the Independence corridor, it has continually seen its capacity increase, most recently with the widening between Shipyard and Carolina Beach Rd. Randall Parkway is being widened now and the extension to Market along the Covil corridor is still being planned, there was a public hearing not too long ago. Independence will be connected to MLK probably by 2020 and will be an alternate north-south route...but it will mainly be used by those that live near it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by le roi
this is a good way to attract the hatred of locals: by comparing Wilmington to "where you came from", aka big cities up north.
Yeah, and I hope they hate me a lot because I hate them a lot.
Do you know what I would have said if someone came up to me and said traffic was worse in LA as compared to the DC area where I moved from? Something like "Really, I can't imagine it being worse". When the locals here get compared to somewhere else they get all bent out of shape over it. Get over yourselves.
Yeah, and I hope they hate me a lot because I hate them a lot.
Yes, I've noticed that you hate North Carolina. It makes me wonder what excuses you have for remaining here.
Quote:
Do you know what I would have said if someone came up to me and said traffic was worse in LA as compared to the DC area where I moved from? Something like "Really, I can't imagine it being worse".
Right, obviously DC and LA are comparably sized cities.
Quote:
When the locals here get compared to somewhere else they get all bent out of shape over it. Get over yourselves.
I'm not a local, perhaps you should complain to someone who is.
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