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I've always wondered what traffic would be like if they had built I-95 all the way from Springfield to College Park through DC like they intended. That's what I-395 was supposed to be.
That's a good question. It'd make driving through the city more convenient that's for sure. Although traffic would be a nightmare because of all the travelers and truckers that use I95.
The routing of I-95 was never that good in my opinion. The routing would of had motorist zigzagging all over the city. I always wondered myself what of happened had I-95 been completed. Likely less traffic on New York Avenue and the Eastern half of the Beltway may be used as an actual bypass but the I-95 routing through DC would of been inconsistent.
This is why commuting suburb to suburb is the way to go.
Stop trolling on here! We all know you're not serious at this point. The only reason this region is ranked worst traffic is BECAUSE of suburb to suburb commuting. Traffic in the city is really not bad at all. It's the suburbs that diminish our quality of life.
The transportation systems in The District and the surrounding suburbs are at a breaking point. I can thank globalization and the poor management of the US economy for so many people migrating to DC where the EASY money can be found. It's a sad state of affairs when young people with college degrees can't find jobs in their home states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, New York (upstate) and more. They have to take the ol' U-Haul truck to Washington, DC as the only salvation for a languishing post-collegiate career.
Economists and politicians talk about blue-collar manufacturing jobs disappearing in this country almost to extinction. Granted, this is an awful trend for the American middle-class. But I am reading about alarming rates of white-collar professional jobs vanishing in places like Pittsburgh, Columbus, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland, Providence, and on and on. Hell, even New York City is losing professional finance jobs to Washington, DC. College graduate professionals who faced layoffs in their home states have a bleak future in front of them. It's like the old saying, "You are all dressed up but no place to go"; talent, smarts and drive don't go you far in Pittsburgh but it sure pays off in Washington, DC.
Private industry is hallowed out in our Rust Belt states, the Deep South, New England (outside of Boston) and increasingly in West Coast states like California and Oregon. If businesses cannot absorb enough labor because they are struggling against cut-throat prices from China or some other fast-rising developing world nation, where are freshly graduated job seekers and those who faced layoffs are supposed to find work?
Answer: the only place in America that is immune to market forces...Washington, DC with its limitless federal government spending.
Free trade, poor macro-management policy by the Federal Reserve, and misplaced spending priorities by our government have caused this imbalance of human migration. Smart, ambitious people should do great things to help their communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan or California. Unfortunately, there is not enough money and job opportunities for them. They find salvation here because the government agencies, The Beltway Bandit contractors, the legal firms/lobby shops, and many private-sector businesses in DC are always hiring.
I would love to see the transplants pack their bags and head for home. But what do they have to go home to?
You know, a lot of these allegedly "languishing" college grads migrate to DC because they actually want to do the work that is unique to this area in terms of addressing global issues, influencing federal policy, working to make the environment better, health care better, national education better, tax structures better, or whatever their particular issue is.
It's one of the reasons I love living here. The fact is, building widgets in Pennsylvania isn't satisfying to many really smart people. I'm not saying everybody's here for these reasons, but many want to use their time on this planet to tackle the big societal issues, so they come here to do that - not to escape bad job markets.
This is why commuting suburb to suburb is the way to go.
If you actually lived here you would know that much of the traffic is IN THE SUBURBS. The Beltway being one of the main problems. This is why people get so annoyed with you posting here. You aren't contributing anything useful and you're confusing people that are new here and don't know that you're a troll.
Stop trolling on here! We all know you're not serious at this point. The only reason this region is ranked worst traffic is BECAUSE of suburb to suburb commuting. Traffic in the city is really not bad at all. It's the suburbs that diminish our quality of life.
I quoted that and said the same thing. Didn't see that you beat me to it. haha
I quoted that and said the same thing. Didn't see that you beat me to it. haha
The more people willing to refute trolling political agendas from non-locals based on lies about our region, the better.
I used to think those comments were actually serious or perhaps just innocently naive. I've learned it's all just trolling to get a rise out of us, which works everytime because the comments are so outlandish that they simply can't be ignored. Imagine honestly believing that the solution to horrific traffic created by suburb to suburb commuting is more suburb to suburb commuting. Brilliant.
I'm just being a jerk here, but the Beltway does indeed touch the city limits. It touches the extreme southernmost point of the District. Actually, it did when the old Wilson bridge was being used. I think the new one still does but (I'm not sure on that. I'll never forget the bridge jumper and how the DC police's poor handling of that got me stuck for 5 hours on 295 just before the bridge.
Someone said that the traffic in DC isn't that bad. After all the years of sitting in traffic jams on Connecticut Ave, Massachusetts Ave, New York Ave, K St. NW, M St NW, or Georgia Ave, or etc..., I beg to differ.
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