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Not sure, but LA's has to be one of the worst if not the worst. There they think it's a really good idea to end carpool lanes right in the middle of the most congested spots, so that they're basically just a surplus jam lane. The Bay Area's was much better by comparison, as long as you weren't going into or through the city. SF itself has virtually no freeways, so it was really bad, but the rest of the system kept a metro of 6+ million moving reasonably well save for a few really bad spots. I lived in Northern Virginia as a teenage-kid and theirs seemed ok given their size and other limitations (like a really old city right in the middle of it all). That's the first place I remember seeing a carpool (HOV) lane which worked really well back then. San Diego's was ok back when I lived there, but I think it's gotten a lot worse now and their freeway system hasn't really kept up at least along the coastal corridor.
I live outside of Colorado Springs now which has to have the worst freeway plan of any 2nd-3rd tier city. Their plan is one interstate, north to south which bottlenecks just north of town (their working on that rt now though) and NO real freeways serving all the 500k people that live East of I-25 for at least 15 miles solid.
So I guess the Bay Area (excepting the city of SF itself) wins for me, but that's not saying much because it's not that great and I haven't compared it to a lot of other freeway systems on an extended basis.
The best freeway system will be the one with the least amount of traffic in my opinion. So this depends on the size of the city as well as the time of day.
The best freeway system will be the one with the least amount of traffic in my opinion. So this depends on the size of the city as well as the time of day.
^^^^^^^^^
My hometown's system is great, but mostly because we're a smaller city, so it's easier to do. A big circle with spokes out in every direction. Works well for us!
Of those mentioned on the list I would say Houston has the best freeway system I have seen. Not only are the roadways themselves maintained but there is also a free roadside assistance service program which assists in getting stranded vehicles off the freeway as quickly as possible.
Another vote for Phoenix. I don't live there, and I don't visit very often, but when I do I find it's very easy to find my way around. Signage is well placed and helpful to the infrequent visitor. Now, those people who are actually living there may find other problems with the freeway system, I don't know.
You can go from top to bottom, side to side, corner to corner...all on freeways.
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