Bradenton, Sarasota ranked 30th for most traffic in the US. Which roads are the worst? (Venice: hotel, live)

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

I'm from St. Louis also and I agree with your assessment. I haven't been in St. Louis since 2009 though. I lived in Lemay for 7 years and before that in South St. Louis for many years. It seemed relatively easy for me in the St. Louis area to find alternate routes if I wanted to. They had more of a street grid compared to Sarasota which mostly involves Hwy. 41 this & Hwy 41 that - which IMO contributes to the traffic problem in Sarasota.

Yep! Regarding grid, some of the older parts like downtown Bradenton for example still has some of that grid from the early days, but it's all been built over now.

Now when you get out to places like Ladue and further west towards Chesterfield it does get a bit more confusing in some areas. I guess due to being newer areas and designed different.

Clayton area traffic does suck on the weekdays being it's such a busy area and no room to expand roads and being the county seat and all.

Here in Charlotte County the problem is literally EVERYTHING is on 41. 41 the main road for the entire county.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Traffic is a bit better now that snowbirds have left for the season. But IMO it was really bad this winter. I was in Venice a lot over the winter going to doctors appointments - driving down from Nokomis. I've been in the area since 2009.

The construction along 41 in Venice near East Venice Ave was the cause of a lot of the back-ups. Now that is done, its clear sailing...until next season of course, then all bets are off. Some construction along 41 lingers further South now, down by Center Rd.

The only consistenly bad traffic I encounter is along 41 near the Sarasota Memorial Hospital, & in Downtown SRQ in front of Marina Jacks all the way through the intersections to lead over the bridge to Lido.

Traffic leading into St. Armands backs up at times, especially mornings, & weekends.

The construction in front of the Van Wezel causes bottlenecks too.

I-75 construction zones are bad, as they improve on/off ramps, & widen 75...usually cost me 5-10 extra minutes unless there's a wreck.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

The construction along 41 in Venice near East Venice Ave was the cause of a lot of the back-ups. Now that is done, its clear sailing...until next season of course, then all bets are off. Some construction along 41 lingers further South now, down by Center Rd.

The only consistenly bad traffic I encounter is along 41 near the Sarasota Memorial Hospital, & in Downtown SRQ in front of Marina Jacks all the way through the intersections to lead over the bridge to Lido.

Traffic leading into St. Armands backs up at times, especially mornings, & weekends.

The construction in front of the Van Wezel causes bottlenecks too.

I-75 construction zones are bad, as they improve on/off ramps, & widen 75...usually cost me 5-10 extra minutes unless there's a wreck.

Man, when I movedback in 2015 it seemed like the construction by UTC and the college exit took forever and just not long ago finished up. I never seen road construction move so slow.

I guess you don't drive 41 in Port Charlotte a lot then. That's terrible no matter what time of year you drive it.

[johns55]

I'm not sure what you guys are seeing. The article says this area is 30th not #1. That means there are 29 other areas that are considered worse. I come from CT. The interchange of I91 and I84 plus I95 in Fairfield county are considered some of the worse roads in the country. Driving in the Sarasota area in season is bad. Fruitville, University, 41, etc, at certain times of the year and day are bad. It's not just the volume of traffic, but the amount and severity of accidents ,and the volume of businesses along these roads with cars entering and exiting.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

No way is Sarasota 30th. Not even in the top 50. I've lived a LOT of places and drove in many many more.

Agreed.

Stamfotd to Norwalk on 95 is atrocious. 95 in N Virginia is even worse. But neither compare to the 405 outside LA in rush hour. Traffic here is a dream by comparison. Sarasota does not have much of a rush hour.

Anyone who complains about the traffic here around UTC In December needs to travel frm Boston Logan to Martha’s Vineyard Friday at 4pm during the summer. You will never complain again.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by johns55

I'm not sure what you guys are seeing. The article says this area is 30th not #1. That means there are 29 other areas that are considered worse. I come from CT. The interchange of I91 and I84 plus I95 in Fairfield county are considered some of the worse roads in the country. Driving in the Sarasota area in season is bad. Fruitville, University, 41, etc, at certain times of the year and day are bad. It's not just the volume of traffic, but the amount and severity of accidents ,and the volume of businesses along these roads with cars entering and exiting.

Season lasts 6 months. The other 6 months, its much lighter...like right now. The annualized traffic rating, lowers the volume a lot.

Every major city has worse traffic than Sarasota. Sarasota is a 3rd tier city. Look at the top 50 most populated on this list (scroll down to see the list) and ask yourself if SRQ's traffic is as bad as those:

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities

Sarasota is not even in the top 200 U.S. cities for population. Sarasota has ~57,000 population. Even if you double it "in-season" to 114,000 it still doesn't make the top 200!

Sarasota has no hills, straight roads w/ good surfaces, no snow or ice, all of which keeps cars moving. Our median drivers age is higher, & traffic lights are purposely timed to stop traffic, unfamiliar drivers, so those are offsets.

Sarasota has no interstates, no highways, no parkways...all surface streets except for 1 state road (41). It is also a very small area in square miles when you look at the city limits map.

[BeirksDentley]

Some of you are confusing "traffic", with "congestion".


Sarasota and Manatee has become extremely congested....but it's wrong to compare this area to NJ, CA, DC, St Louis or even Miami.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by BeirksDentley

Some of you are confusing "traffic", with "congestion".


Sarasota and Manatee has become extremely congested....but it's wrong to compare this area to NJ, CA, DC, St Louis or even Miami.

St. Louis traffic isn't as bad.

[Trying941]

Originally Posted by BeirksDentley

Some of you are confusing "traffic", with "congestion".

.

You are right that there is indeed a difference, but the article uses the terms interchangeably.

"Bradenton, Sarasota ranked 30th for most traffic in the US. Which roads are the worst? BY ROBYN MURRELL

Here are the Bradenton area roads with the most traffic. ... The Manatee County population has grown to about 399,700 people, according to the 2020 Census, and that means more drivers, congestion and extended commute times."

Read more at: https://www.bradenton.com/news/local...#storylink=cpy

[johns55]

I can't tell from the article if they are talking about the cities of Sarasota and Bradenton, or the metropolitan area. MSA has a population of just under 900,000