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Old 08-27-2013, 09:10 AM
 
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So judging by the insane SB Merritt traffic from Exit 48 through Westport yesterday and this morning, am I assuming school has started?
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Old 08-27-2013, 09:16 AM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
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After commuting from Milford to New Haven for 4 months; yes, there's occasional traffic - but anyone that complains about this commute has never commuted in FFC.
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Old 08-27-2013, 09:22 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmdealerguy View Post
So judging by the insane SB Merritt traffic from Exit 48 through Westport yesterday and this morning, am I assuming school has started?

Uh huh.
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Old 08-27-2013, 09:35 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident View Post
Uh huh.
Damn......Last Friday (and for weeks before) it took me 54 minutes to get to work.....which is excellent......this morning was just about 2 hours. 1 hour and 3 minutes from Exit 49 to Exit 42 ALONE!!!......thats just horrible.
I know we all have been over this......but.......WHAT exactly changes so much that causes this anyway? Why does school starting magically make so many cars just appear?
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Old 08-27-2013, 09:45 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmdealerguy View Post
Damn......Last Friday (and for weeks before) it took me 54 minutes to get to work.....which is excellent......this morning was just about 2 hours. 1 hour and 3 minutes from Exit 49 to Exit 42 ALONE!!!......thats just horrible.
I know we all have been over this......but.......WHAT exactly changes so much that causes this anyway? Why does school starting magically make so many cars just appear?
It's attributable to extra volume and the constant merging-in of traffic.

For example, if you have someone trying to merge into the Merritt during a busy morning, the act of merging causes those on the highway to slow down themselves. This creates a "domino effect" causing others to also slow down, and eventually leads to an extreme slowdown due to high volume + high merging traffic.
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:17 AM
 
2,249 posts, read 2,206,470 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Comp625 View Post
It's attributable to extra volume and the constant merging-in of traffic.

For example, if you have someone trying to merge into the Merritt during a busy morning, the act of merging causes those on the highway to slow down themselves. This creates a "domino effect" causing others to also slow down, and eventually leads to an extreme slowdown due to high volume + high merging traffic.

Makes sense......however.......I will use my example here, Where the big traffic for me is between Exit 48-44 SB. 4 exits but a very long stretch. It can take anywhere from 20,30 minute to even an hour(like this morning) to get through. While I am crawling along or sitting at a stop, I never see a heavy merge of people getting on that can cause such a delay.A few cars here and there but never a line of people trying to merge. I still dont get it.
And again, I see school started but what is the exact cause of why one day to the next would change so drastically? Why starting Monday did the car population double from Friday (no school) to Monday(school starts)? That is my question.........where did these people appear from and where were they? Where are they going? They cant all be invloved with school related stuff.......
Even during school year, you can have a day or so with zero traffic and the next day it will be a parking lot. It really does not make sense. If it was all due to congestion..........wouldnt it be congested all of the time? I seriously try to analyze this stuff while I am driving..........and its driving me crazy......
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Old 08-27-2013, 10:22 AM
 
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Ha, I've spent years trying to figure it out myself with no logical explanation. My guess is that back-to-school means an influx of Faculty, Staff, Paraprofessionals, Parents, etc. all suddenly traveling on the highway since summer break is over.

It also seems that the first few days and weeks of back-to-school are the worst. People "forget" how to drive and then things ease up a little bit after in 2-3 weeks once everyone is back in the groove of doing the morning commute.
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Old 08-28-2013, 03:57 PM
 
Location: Trumbull/Danbury
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FFC is the reason I NEVER take the highway (Merritt/95; 25 & 8 are fine) if I'm going in town or 1 town over. It doesn't matter if I'm going from the south/east end of Trumbull (Hawley Lane) to the Southport section of Fairfield, I will take the back roads past SHU and Fairfield to get there.
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Old 08-28-2013, 06:21 PM
 
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Parents take time off during the summer. Grandparents too. Just about all of them come back to work when school starts. The driving pattern of lots of college kids change too. But i don't see how that would affect exits 42-48.
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Old 08-28-2013, 09:57 PM
 
Location: Trumbull/Danbury
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nonny View Post
Parents take time off during the summer. Grandparents too. Just about all of them come back to work when school starts. The driving pattern of lots of college kids change too. But i don't see how that would affect exits 42-48.

Commuter students from Wilton/Westport/Weston going to Sacred Heart or Fairfield.
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