Traffic or Drivers Worse than Ever? (Detroit, Warren: real estate, 2015, buy)

[DTWflyer]

Is it me or has the traffic an overall driving around Metro Detroit in regards to general congestion, winter driving, accident, and general idiocracy been worse than ever the past several months?

Today I saw 4 major serious multi-car, close-the-highway accidents on my commute both ways and it wasn't even an eventual weather day.

Traffic around Metro Detroit seems to have gotten significantly worse and more intense in the past year or two, and the duration of rush-hour seems to have gotten longer on both sides.

Granted, I know we don't have the traffic compared to much larger Metros but I feel like its a lot worse than say even just 2015 or 2016.

That, or general skill & manner are worse and distracted driving is at an all-time high.

[MS313]

Idk about worse then ever but downtown traffic especially I-94 between 96 and 75 has gotten worse.

I work in Wixom and traffic on 696/96 from Orchard Lake to my exit in Wixom is stop and go after 3:30pm everyday... and it starts before then on Fridays. Its nuts. Idk if it has always been like that or what but that's a pretty long way from the 5pm rush hour.

[Geo-Aggie]

Last summer, I made a post about the number of out-of-state plates I had been seeing around being greater than I had seen in 2015 or 2016, and far greater than how many I ever saw in Salt Lake. Lots of plates from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey... even plates from traditionally positive-migration states like Georgia, California, Florida, and Texas.

A few months later, Census estimates showed that July 2016-June 2017 had been the first year since 2000 that Michigan had a positive net-migration (meaning more people moved in, than out). Detroit news published that here. That was helped by international migration, much of which comes from the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

Then you've got the amateur real-estate blogs talking about how Metro Detroit is a hot area to own or buy real estate, because there's demand for it, with limited supply after so many years of no-growth and very little new development.

Finally, throw in that after two really weak winters, Detroit is currently experiencing a winter that, despite a late start, has already fallen into the Extreme (highest) quintile, as classified by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center's Winter Severity Index, and I believe what you're seeing is a lot of people who are not accustomed to driving in a 6" snow storm, because when it snows 6" in St. Louis, Atlanta, or Houston - the state shuts down (I assume snow also shuts life down in Mumbai and Guangzhou); meanwhile, in Detroit, we throw some salt on the wounds and dodge fresh potholes.

I get that I'm a new resident too, but I'm pretty sure those of us moving here from New England and the Intermountain West know a thing or two about 6" of snow and terrible roads -- I know it's not a HUGE number, but you take a populace that already has a few crap snow drivers that haven't driven in the snow since 2014, increase that by a few percentage of people who have basically zero experience driving in the snow, and you've got a recipe for a few extra traffic jams.

Did anyone see this yesterday?

[craig11152]

I like Geo-Aggie's theory

and I will only add that you can have tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of cars a day on a freeway and it only takes one bad driver/mistake to bring it all to a halt.

[DTWflyer]

Yeah I expect the days with snow like Wednesday morning to be bad, but it seems like even the days like Tuesday morning with an inch or less are becoming a hot mess. Tuesday afternoon with clear roads and sun was a hot mess.

I think some of it is related to the I-75 south closure south of Detroit that is pushing a lot of traffic on to I-94 between I-75 & I-275, and to a lesser extend even on I-696. The drive from downtown to the airport has gotten significantly more congested even outside of peak rush hour.

Agree it seems that afternoon rush is creeping earlier and earlier too. It used to be okay before 4:30 and good before for 4pm, but I'm noticing that it seems to be closer to 3pm that its starting now. At least rush is pretty much over between 6-6:30pm.

I am also convinced that no children ride the bus to school anymore that going anywhere tangentially located within a half mile of school in the morning or afternoon is a hot mess since everyone drives their kids to school.

[Coldjensens]

As downtown and midtown come pack, you are squeezing more people intot he same amount of space so traffic will get worse. Also if 105 of drivers are texters or other awful/dangerous drivers, when you had 1000 dirvers you get 100 kamikaze texters in your area. When it increases to 3000 drivers in the same place you now have 300 Kamikazes. Even though the ratios are the same, you are going to run into (literally perhaps) a lot more idiot drivers.

I have heard most of the 75 southbound traffic end sup on Fort street and form what I have seen it appears accurate. Certainly some of it will end up on the 94. I use that as an alternate route at times.

The official detour route trucks are supposed to take is to go all the way out to the 275 and then south to Monroe where it merges into the 75. I do not think anyone is likely to do that. It is 40 or 50 miles of extra driving. Driving down Fort street, especially around rush hours, it is clear many or most trucks do not follow the detour, there are hundreds or thousands of them on Fort at any given time.

[DTWflyer]

Yeah, it also seems that a lot of the I-75 south traffic is also using I-94 to Telegraph to the I-75 connector in Taylor.

The I-696 westbound closure from I-94 to I-75 in Macomb County will be interesting this summer.
That's rough for a lot of commuters that work in Southfield that come in from the East side, and those who work in Warren that live over in Oakland, particularly at the Tech Center.

[Geo-Aggie]

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

I am also convinced that no children ride the bus to school anymore that going anywhere tangentially located within a half mile of school in the morning or afternoon is a hot mess since everyone drives their kids to school.

What? Parents willingly choose to live more than a half mile from their kids’ Schools? What is this? Some kind of planned suburban sprawl-paradise?

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

As downtown and midtown come pack, you are squeezing more people intot he same amount of space so traffic will get worse.

I live in Southern Oakland and work in Southern Macomb, and even I’ve noticed 696 traffic starting earlier and having more frequent slowdowns than even 2015. Granted right now the pot holes are pretty bad (the 2018 reconstruction can’t come fast enough!!!), but even this summer/fall we’re this way. I have the “reverse” commute and it slows down sometimes. What I observe coming the other direction looks miserable.

[Nattering Heights]

The long delays in road repair despite public demand tell a key part of the story. Next will be decisions to stop paving and go back to dirt, first on side streets and then gradually on more main roads.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

Last summer, I made a post about the number of out-of-state plates I had been seeing around being greater than I had seen in 2015 or 2016, and far greater than how many I ever saw in Salt Lake. Lots of plates from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey... even plates from traditionally positive-migration states like Georgia, California, Florida, and Texas.

A few months later, Census estimates showed that July 2016-June 2017 had been the first year since 2000 that Michigan had a positive net-migration (meaning more people moved in, than out). Detroit news published that here. That was helped by international migration, much of which comes from the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

Then you've got the amateur real-estate blogs talking about how Metro Detroit is a hot area to own or buy real estate, because there's demand for it, with limited supply after so many years of no-growth and very little new development.

Finally, throw in that after two really weak winters, Detroit is currently experiencing a winter that, despite a late start, has already fallen into the Extreme (highest) quintile, as classified by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center's Winter Severity Index, and I believe what you're seeing is a lot of people who are not accustomed to driving in a 6" snow storm, because when it snows 6" in St. Louis, Atlanta, or Houston - the state shuts down (I assume snow also shuts life down in Mumbai and Guangzhou); meanwhile, in Detroit, we throw some salt on the wounds and dodge fresh potholes.

I get that I'm a new resident too, but I'm pretty sure those of us moving here from New England and the Intermountain West know a thing or two about 6" of snow and terrible roads -- I know it's not a HUGE number, but you take a populace that already has a few crap snow drivers that haven't driven in the snow since 2014, increase that by a few percentage of people who have basically zero experience driving in the snow, and you've got a recipe for a few extra traffic jams.

Did anyone see this yesterday?

I think that is an actual sneak peak image of HELL!