why is the traffic problem so bad in the Phoenix area? (employment, living in)

[annie7]

In KC it's a relatively big place, spread out and lost of traffic. However, especially in the Johnson County area it is planned out and sign posted so well it's easy to find your way around. I've heard (not experienced) that the Phoenix area is horrible in every way concerning traffic and getting places. My son in law who has been there for a month or so said that it takes so long to get anywhere, even 10 miles. Why is that?

[nickw252]

the city is very sprawled out and is not densely populated, with substandard (but getting better) public transportation, therefore requiring most people to travel long distances in their cars.

This is what most of the Phoenix suburbs look like:


(this pic is from Albuquerque but is a good example of what most western suburbs look like)

Clearly it is not a pedestrian or public transit friendly city, and people are required to drive anywhere they want.

[observer53]

Depending on where specifically you are going and what time, it can be congested. However, it's not accurate to suggest that it takes "so long" to go ten miles anytime, anywhere.

It's not hard to find one's way around Phoenix, either. It's primarily a grid system with major streets a mile apart.

As was already said, it's a large, spread out place, the fifth largest city in the country with some large adjacent suburbs. So, cars are a necessity for most.

Perhaps I'm used to it, but I know there are cities that are worse.

[enigmadsm]

Not denseley populated? The metropolitan area has a poplation of over 4.2 million people. That coupled with roads that were build for half that many and designed years ago, and people working/living far distances everyday with a lack of public transit system = crappy commute.

Its not all across the city after living there for a short time its fairly easy to figure out which areas are the worst. the highways during rush hour are aweful though

[observer53]

It's not densely populated in many areas as compared to other major cities, particularly in Central Phoenix. Even the business core is more spread out than you would find elsewhere- that's not "densely populated" either. So, you have people living in more outlying areas and commuting by car to the commercial centers scattered all over.

[enigmadsm]

okay its not like driving in downtown seattle or downtown L.A. but our city's design is not the same as that. so instead of having gobs of people within a 5 mile radius and not many scattered throughout, you have gobs of people trying to get anywhere and everywhere

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by annie7

My son in law who has been there for a month or so said that it takes so long to get anywhere, even 10 miles. Why is that?

He's lost?

[Finger Laker]

It's not densely populated at all - over how large of a land mass do those 4.2 million people reside?

Also, the infrastructure here is relatively new. The 101, 51 and a good chunk of the 202 are all fairly new. Not to mention that there are expansions of I-10, I-17, etc.

With so many new communities all of their infrastructure is new as well.

Not to mention you don't have issues like eastern cities which were built before cars were being present.

Phoenix has great roadways. Phoenix has new roadways that can handle a lot of capacity. Phoenix is a simple grid system and very easy to get around.

What makes traffic difficult?

The phoenix metro is massive. There are individual roads that run 40 miles. Many more than run 20+ miles.

There really aren't any centralized job areas. You'll find employment all over the place. Residential areas, entertainment area, etc - it's all spread out. You have people going all places at all times.

With the top 2 public transportation is difficult. The metro also isn't very walkable.

Also, there are a high # of interchanges which leads to a lot of merging traffic, people changing lanes to get on/off, etc.

Throw in snow birds, visitors, those just passing through (running from SoCal eastward or vice versa), etc things can get pretty congested at times.

IMO, traffic here can be pretty severe when it's bad. We have some pretty strong bottlenecks and some hard times for commuting.

However, the length of rush hour, the amount of area where it doesn't bottleneck, etc make it tolerable and not so bad.

There are many cities where you're still sitting in traffic at 9am or 6 pm. Out here you're pretty much moving along at the limit.

[azriverfan.]

I'm guessing you haven't lived in any other large metropolitan city that is ranked in the top 10 because you would recognize the traffic here is nothing compared to those cities. Mod cut: Personal.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

Throw in snow birds, visitors, those just passing through (running from SoCal eastward or vice versa), etc things can get pretty congested at times.

Snowbird left laners with their turn signal on all the time