Orlando ranked 127th in the world, 23rd in US in traffic congestion scorecard...you can stop complaining now (Miami: houses, construction)

[Pete C]

INRIX released their Global Traffic Scorecard for 2018 this week, and Orlando is ranked 127th in the world, 23rd in the United States. That is exactly our MSA population ranking...23rd largest in the country. Tampa and Miami, both larger MSAs, both scored higher in the traffic scorecard as they should. All this while I-4 Ultimate is in full swing. As others who have spent time in larger cities have pointed out time and time again, we can stop saying Orlando has really bad traffic. Relative to other cities it is literally exactly where it should be.

INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard

[OTownKnight]

Oh good, I'll never complain about traffic again when I'm stuck in gridlock because of poor traffic flow planning, never-ending construction, or a bad accident because of the idiot drivers in this city

[RocketDawg]

At 2.5M, Orlando has to be the largest metro in the country with only one Interstate highway. Birmingham, Alabama, less than half the metro size, has 4. And not only does Orlando have a large resident population, it's pretty much overrun with tourists. I can see how there are complaints about traffic.

The first time I was ever in Orlando was in the early '70s, going to the airport then traveling east on the Beeline to the Cape. The airport was fairly busy at the time, but as I recall, small and rather antiquated. Traffic didn't seem to be much of an issue on the highways. The area has at least quadrupled in population since then, and the airport has followed suit.

[milliehubbard]

Lived in Orlando for a while in the mid 2000s and the problem I ran into was that there were no alternative routes. If there was an accident on one major artery there weren't really any viable alternatives. I lived in Hunters Creek and commuted to UCF via the Greenway...if there was an accident on the Greenway my alternative was OBT or Orange Ave to the Beachline or 408...what was a 30 minute commute on 417 was now about an hour...if i was lucky and there weren't any accidents on those highways.

[Huasho]

Originally Posted by milliehubbard

Lived in Orlando for a while in the mid 2000s and the problem I ran into was that there were no alternative routes. If there was an accident on one major artery there weren't really any viable alternatives. I lived in Hunters Creek and commuted to UCF via the Greenway...if there was an accident on the Greenway my alternative was OBT or Orange Ave to the Beachline or 408...what was a 30 minute commute on 417 was now about an hour...if i was lucky and there weren't any accidents on those highways.

The things we do for Love !!!!!!!

[boy3365]

Originally Posted by Pete C

INRIX released their Global Traffic Scorecard for 2018 this week, and Orlando is ranked 127th in the world, 23rd in the United States. That is exactly our MSA population ranking...23rd largest in the country. Tampa and Miami, both larger MSAs, both scored higher in the traffic scorecard as they should. All this while I-4 Ultimate is in full swing. As others who have spent time in larger cities have pointed out time and time again, we can stop saying Orlando has really bad traffic. Relative to other cities it is literally exactly where it should be.

INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard

I'm not much of a complainer when it comes to Orlando, but I remember in another thread someone bringing up a good point. People who say traffic isn't as bad here compared to other places seem to always mention cities much larger than here as their comparison point. It would be like me complaining about rents here and then someone saying it's nothing compared to what they paid in NYC, SF, or LA. Well, saying that doesn't magically make Orlando rents or houses more affordable to me.


The proper argument is to compare Orlando to cities/metros of the same size. I don't care to do that, but I could name a regular or two on this forum who would be GLAD to tell you how inferior Orlando is every way compared to similarly sized metros such as Charlotte, San Antonio, St. Louis, Baltimore, Portland (OR), etc. LOL.

[bmw335xi]

It really just depends on where you moved from or comparing cities you used to live. I noticed Orlando has set rush hours, it isn't an all day thing, so for me it's an upgrade. However, what annoys me isn't the traffic, which is an improvement from what I'm used to, but it's the poorly timed and LONG traffic lights... combined that with a lot of bad drivers who block intersections, block lanes to cut into another lane, and those who simply aren't paying attention, so only a few cars are able to go through the light.

[boy3365]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

It really just depends on where you moved from or comparing cities you used to live. I noticed Orlando has set rush hours, it isn't an all day thing, so for me it's an upgrade. However, what annoys me isn't the traffic, which is an improvement from what I'm used to, but it's the poorly timed and LONG traffic lights... combined that with a lot of bad drivers who block intersections, block lanes to cut into another lane, and those who simply aren't paying attention, so only a few cars are able to go through the light.

These things!!!

My pet peeves are the short left turn signals and the person in front of you who either doesn't go (because they're on their phone), or who take their precious time, leaving 3-4 cars worth of space between the vehicle in front of them. Then there are the people who come to almost a complete stop to make a right turn, causing several cars behind them to almost come to a complete stop. I don't know how specific the behavioral things are to Orlando or Florida though.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by boy3365

These things!!!

My pet peeves are the short left turn signals and the person in front of you who either doesn't go (because they're on their phone), or who take their precious time, leaving 3-4 cars worth of space between the vehicle in front of them. Then there are the people who come to almost a complete stop to make a right turn, causing several cars behind them to almost come to a complete stop. I don't know how specific the behavioral things are to Orlando or Florida though.

YES!!! Not to mention those making the barely moving U-Turn....

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by boy3365

These things!!!

My pet peeves are the short left turn signals and the person in front of you who either doesn't go (because they're on their phone), or who take their precious time, leaving 3-4 cars worth of space between the vehicle in front of them. Then there are the people who come to almost a complete stop to make a right turn, causing several cars behind them to almost come to a complete stop. I don't know how specific the behavioral things are to Orlando or Florida though.

Yep lol. I've noticed these things a lot more in Orlando and Florida in general or maybe it's because of the long light intervals I notice it here more. In other states (not all but many) the light intervals aren't that long, so if you don't make the light, it's not a big deal because 30 seconds to 1 minute you'll get a green light again, but many of the lights here seem to have 3-5 minute intervals or at least that's how it feels. Also, the idiots who don't want to wait in a long left turn lane, so they go into the straight lane and then signal to cut in line, blocking the entire straight line until the light turns red. I've gotten out of my car twice since since 2016 with my phone to film the person in the car and saying look at this f***ing idiot right here. I should start a youtube channel to publicly shame these drivers lol.