Although we spend a lot of time debating and hoping for a better form of mass transportation to come to the Jacksonville area, Im a realist and I'm more interested in our current road networks capacity. I've spent most of the last decade living and working close to downtown sheltered from the rest of the city's traffic so I've been surprised by some of my commute times upon moving further out into the burbs of Southside and Mandarin and commuting to my job in South point or when heading back towards Downtown/Riverside during evening rush hours.
The Fuller Warren seems like a major choke point waiting to happen. 295 in Mandarin seems to be backed up regularly, mostly due to accidents. JTB is at a stand still often as are numerous other roadways in town. 9A seems to be getting congested as well along some parts. This isn't a comparison thread pitting Jacksonville against our peer cities to determine who has it worse, I'm just asking if our traffic appears to be getting worse in general. 95 felt wide open a decade ago when they widened it to 3 lanes, but now its feeling pretty cramped.
I don't have access to any traffic data otherwise I would've posted it in a neat little chart comparing past and present traffic volumes on the major roadways around town.
I just needed to google a little better:
http://www.firstcoastmpo.com/traffic_counts/
Maybe i'm just getting more impatient. Or maybe the roadways are getting maxed out during peak times more than they were a decade ago.
reality is Jacksonville doesn't have much of a traffic problem....there are a few isolated hot spots, but nothing compared to large metros...or even Tampa and Orlando
Jacksonville has NO traffic compared to sitting on I-4 on a SUNDAY, a SUNDAY and going 45 miles per hour through Orlando, or crawling around the top end perimeter in Atlanta on I-285. I could go on and on about traffic in South Florida or into Tampa, but the point is useless.
We have no major traffic in Jacksonville, we have congestion, but we are not a major traffic town. So if the Fuller Warren gets clogged, I take the Acosta or Main Street bridge, try telling people in downtown Orlando to take 17/92 instead of I-4, I give I-4 the finger and take the toll road bypass. Same with I-285, no good way around the north end of Atlanta. And if it rains, whoa Nellie, you could look at 2 hours to go 1 mile.
Our traffic is a joke compared to other southern towns, not to mention major cities around the country and world. Be thankful for what we have here.
I know that we've got it easy compared to other cities, I’m just wondering if the average commute time has increased in Northeast Florida over the past decade. That’s one thing I do like about living here - the easy commuting, but the past few years I’ve noticed the commute times going up at rush hour. The backups getting longer on the interstates & expressways. I’m just searching for hard data to back up my perception but it may be other factors like where I live now, commuting patterns & hours I’m working.
Even if it is just my perception that’s off, I do wonder about the capacity of the major bridges in town. The Fuller Warren definitely seems like it’ll be overwhelmed in 10-15 years and 295 across the Buckman can only be widen so much.
QuoteThe Fuller Warren definitely seems like it’ll be overwhelmed in 10-15 years and 295 across the Buckman can only be widen so much.
9A/295 can be widened to 3 lanes on each side, so we have that to look forward to in the future. By then we will hopefully have an outer beltway, with a toll of course to pay for it.
Here are the volume/capacity ratio for Jacksonville's classified roadway system from the 2030 Mobility Plan.
The roadway links with V/C ratios over 1.00 are considered our worst, as far as congestion goes. The top map is 2008-2009 conditions. The bottom map is projected 2030 conditions.
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/Transit/Jacksonville-2030-Mobility/Executive-Summary-FiguresPage1/827039175_iaCyo-X2.jpg)
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/Transit/Jacksonville-2030-Mobility/Executive-Summary-FiguresPage3/827038994_ZMrmw-X2.jpg)
By the way, Clay County has some of the worst traffic in the State.
Where Florida ranks in America's worst 75 commutes, according to Daily Beast. They are using INRIX data, which is something I'm currently reviewing for one of my Central Florida clients.
America's 75 Worst Commutes (2010)http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/01/19/americas-75-worst-commutes.html
QuoteThey are the highways to hell in the country’s most gridlocked cities. The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to determine your ultimate morning nightmares. How did your commute rank?
Quote#10, Airport Expressway (State Road 112), Miami
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 183
Worst bottleneck: Eastbound, 72nd Ave/Milam Dairy Rd
Length of worst bottleneck: .46 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 22
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 16.3 mph
Commuter Buzz: ''Southbound, northbound, eastbound, westbound. It means detours,'' state Department of Transportation spokesperson Tish Burgher told the Miami Herald July 14, 2009, after surrounding roadwork was expected to force traffic onto State Road 112.
Quote#23, I-275, Tampa
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 235
Worst bottleneck: Northbound Himes Ave/Exit 23
Length of worst bottleneck: .39 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 28
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 21.1 mph
Commuter Buzz: “We all know that mish-mash south of Tampa International Airportâ€"where Interstate 275 connects with the Veterans and Memorial Highway and State Road 60,†says Jessica Balanza. “It has been a mess for the longest time, and I don't foresee it clearing up anytime soon.
Quote#46, I 4, Orlando
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 139
Worst bottleneck: Eastbound, Kaley Ave/35th St/Exit 35
Length of worst bottleneck: .48 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 29
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 19.9 mph
Commuter Buzz: "You can not build enough lanes on Interstate 4 to take care of the problem," Senator Ben Nelson said in Orlando. "We need to go to alternative forms of transportation."
Quote#48, I-95, Jacksonville
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 45
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Palm Ave
Length of worst bottleneck: .57 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 10
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 21.5 mph
Commuter Buzz: "There is a lot of congestion coming out of Clay County," Joe Mobley, vice president of The Fiorentino Group, told the Jacksonville Business Journal in June 2009. "The First Coast Outer Beltway could provide another option for people to get to work."
Quote#65, I-75, Cape Coral, FL
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 19
Worst bottleneck: Northboundâ€"Alico Road/Exit 20
Length of worst bottleneck: 3.9 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 9
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 21.8 mph
Commuter Buzz: “You're putting your life on the line every time you drive I-75,†posted one Ocala.com reader.
Quote from: David on February 28, 2012, 05:24:04 PM
but the past few years I’ve noticed the commute times going up at rush hour. The backups getting longer on the interstates & expressways. I’m just searching for hard data to back up my perception but it may be other factors like where I live now, commuting patterns & hours I’m working.
actually traffic counts have generally been down since 2007 (most likely because of the recession)....and congestion has also decreased.
I used to regularly hit a backup on I-95 northbound at Emerson around 5:30pm....most of the time now the backup doesn't hit until I get near the downtown exit....this is mainly due to the I-10/I-95 interchange being finished but also the reduction in traffic.
The Jax area does have spots that are as bad as just about anywhere - 295 and Clay County, most notably. I agree that overall it's not as bad as Orlando or some other places. It's also only going to get worse as we grow, meaning it's even more important that we stay on top of it.
Yeah it is not how bad it is now, but how bad it will be when you add 500K or 1 Mil as with Orlando and Tampa. I think we need to think about the future problems and how to avoid such problems.
Thanks for posting that map Lake. It really does show that it's not too bad right now.
My commuting patterns have changed in the last year to where I’m hitting the few traffic hot spots that we do have. Traffic does seem to be lighter towards downtown but out in the southern parts of town it does seem to be increasing. especially at the 295/95 interchange.
This is month 9 of my exile from the "core". Living over there has spoiled me, I rarely dealt with traffic. Lease is up! Time to move.
David, definitely agree with the traffic getting heavier south of jax...not a surprise I guess...and I've noticed that all throughout the day and into evening hours...but I tell people it still moves...
In my mind (I've heard references to the traffic accordion effect), it seems though that there is a tipping point, where increasingly heavy traffic results in exponentially more slow-downs and jams.
To the transportation guys here, is there anything to that thought above?
Quote from: Jdog on February 29, 2012, 10:47:15 AM
In my mind (I've heard references to the traffic accordion effect), it seems though that there is a tipping point, where increasingly heavy traffic results in exponentially more slow-downs and jams.
To the transportation guys here, is there anything to that thought above?
correct....basically a road can flow smoothly up to 90% of capacity...its that last 10% that really gums things up....and there is also something called the slinky effect, where an accident can affect traffic upstream hours after the incident is cleared.
Looked up some traffic counts on our expressways from FDOT....info. can be found here
http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/FloridaTrafficOnline/viewer.html
when you click on a particluar count station, a box will come up...and many will have a link to historical count data
I-95 s. of Emerson
2006 - 127,000
2010 - 122,500
JTB - w. of Southside
2006 - 92,000
2010 - 81,500 (construction)
JTB - w. of 9A (interchange opened during time period)
2006 - 91,500
2010 - 95,000
JTB - w. of A1A
2006 - 66,000
2010 - 60,500
I-10 - w. of McDuff
2006 - 128,500
2010 - 116,500
I-295 - Buckman Bridge
2006 - 129,500
2010 - 121,000
I-95 - s. of St. Augustine Rd
2006 - 86,700
2010 - 87,800
I-295 (9A) - n. of Dames Point Bridge
2006 - 65,700
2010 - 66,400
I-95 - n. of I-295/9A (by airport)
2006 - 84,500
2010 - 82,500
I-295 - s. of Pritchard Rd.
2006 - 72,700
2010 - 65,100
I-10 - e. of US 301
2006 - 49,300
2010 - 45,000
MLK/20th St Expwy - e. of Main St
2006 - 52,000
2010 - 41,500
Hart Expwy - w. of Beach Blvd
2006 - 23,000
2010 - 19,100
after commuting in Atlanta for four years, traffic here isnt too bad. It is all relative and what you are used to. I would Clay County folks have it the worst in our region.
QuoteYeah it is not how bad it is now, but how bad it will be when you add 500K or 1 Mil as with Orlando and Tampa.
As we hit 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 dollar a gallon gas, we will not have to worry about that problem. Thanks to Obama's energy program and the Federal Reserve. It will be cost prohibitive to go anywhere.
Quote from: mtraininjax on February 29, 2012, 10:28:24 PM
QuoteYeah it is not how bad it is now, but how bad it will be when you add 500K or 1 Mil as with Orlando and Tampa.
As we hit 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 dollar a gallon gas, we will not have to worry about that problem. Thanks to Obama's energy program and the Federal Reserve. It will be cost prohibitive to go anywhere.
OMG you republicans will blame him for your own farts...it's so old and makes you look like and idiot.
QuoteOMG you republicans will blame him for your own farts...it's so old and makes you look like and idiot.
And he continues to blame BUSH for everything, at least he is consistent! LOL!
Love the FTU Editorial some time ago......we only experience Woes at certain Peak Time Periods,outside that....great!!!!! (message-grow grow grow)
Not making this up....not that one would post Original here
KG/NM....and who knows who else......
^ That's pretty much why it's been wearing on me lately, because I travel at mainly peak times now. Before I was "above it all" with my odd hour'd jobs.
BTW the original post was tipped off from the native inferiority complex us Jacksonvillians are so well known for by a co-worker in Dallas. I was mentioning how it's a pain to get to work lately and he quipped "Jacksonville has traffic?" I wanted to be like "yeah, yeah we got traffic! We're big city too!"
My first driving memories are of 295/95 in Mandarin being some po-dunk interchange and 9A being the St Johns Bluff exit off JTB that two cars were turning off of. That's how long it's been since i've lived out this way. The historic district keeps you sheltered!
Yes, we have traffic and its very comparable with most metropolitan areas of similar size. Like any other community, we have pockets that are worse than they have to be. It's not on the level of a place like Atlanta, Miami, or Dallas but we aren't on the level of those places. They are five times larger. Even metro Tampa and Orlando are twice as large.
Our true peers are second tier communities of similar size like Louisville, Memphis, Salt Lake City, and Nashville. However, where we really suffer is not having viable alternative mobility choices and a land use pattern that does us a disservice in an economic climate where people value time not spent driving.
It has been a year and 6 months since my exile from the Urban Core, banished to the auto-centric burbs in the name of love.
Although on the good days our interstates and freeways move along at a respectable pace during peak hours, it's the constant wrecks that are making my commute times shoot up beyond 30 minutes. Sat in traffic for 50 minutes crawling from the 95 N to 295 W flyover last week to drive 3 miles. 45 minutes on JTB to Southside to go 2 miles last night.
And don't forget about the ice cream truck flipping over on 295 a few days ago. 2+ hour commutes for those coming in from OP to the Southside.
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-12-10/story/blue-bell-ice-cream-truck-flipped-after-crash-i-295-fhp-lists-critical
The southside is getting crowded and the wrecks do seem to to be on the rise. Maybe once everyone's commute starts crawling up towards an hour because everyone's snarled in traffic daily some other form of transportation will take hold.
Maybe.
Driving on Southside arterials in this town blows big time. It's simply unpredictable. If there's no wreck and it's a clear sunny day, everything is smooth sailing. If it rains or there's a crash, you're screwed because every alternative path takes you miles out of the direction you're traveling in, if you haven't already made it past the point of no return.
That's exactly why I had a fit yesterday. I had a choice to make when leaving work to get to Arlington. Belfort to Hogan to Southside to the expressway, or JTB to southside.
I said "nah, it can't be that bad @ 6:30 pm. So I turned on JTB and came to a grinding halt and just sat there for 45 minutes. It was one of those situations where people start driving on the shoulder or median to get out of traffic.
Although I haven't seen people driving the wrong way on the interstate on ramps yet to escape traffic. I've only seen that in Atlanta.
This is pretty much why everyone sticks to their side of town. When I lived in Riverside, I never thought of going anywhere past San Marco and only put 7,000 miles a year on my car. Ahh, the good old days!
overturned truck @ Kernan...they closed JTB
All it takes is one incident to disrupt the flow of traffic and cause gridlock. The overtunred ice-cream truck, last nights accident are good examples. Without any other reliable means of getting around the city we are pretty much stuck.
Resurrecting this 3 year old thread, but mainly to clarify. After dealing with suburban rush hour traffic for 3 years you find ways to adapt.
In Summary: A 22 mile one way commute relying solely on the interstates at rush hour alone just isn't a good idea, at least not without checking google traffic maps first. Backroads, alternative routes and driving off peak hours is how I've managed to keep my sanity. It was quite a rude awakening compared to living in Riverside/San Marco because you know...I heard Jax didn't REALLY have traffic.
We do, it's just not Atlanta bad yet. 295 from Orange Park through Mandarin & out towards the Town Center and up 95 into downtown can be almost as bad as anywhere. 30 minutes to go 5-10 miles and the frequency of wrecks causing delays is astounding some weeks. My commute easily tops an hour quite often.
When 795 opens up, i'm sure it'll help a little bit but all the development planned in St. Johns county seems like it'll overload it sooner than later. Maybe the express lanes on 295 will help somewhat, at least for those just passing through.
Not complaining just making an observation...The price to pay for a growing city right? (and living in the 'burbs) Although at one point the rush hour commutes were getting on my nerves so bad I thought about taking the bus into work, the Mandarin/Downtown express (route 200) but biking 2-3 miles and relying on a JTA bus to have an open spot on the bike rack just wasn't feasible for reliably getting to work sans car.
It took me about 45 minutes to get to downtown from JTB this morning. There was an accident on 95, so I took Philips. There was also an accident on Philips, so at that point, I was out of luck. I get to experience it all again in another hour or so. I've drawn the unlucky straw of having to work a half day in Central Florida.
Haha oh no Lake, I guess I can't complain about my 44 mile roundtrip commute then! You have a...200+ mile commute today it sounds like.
I meant to capture a screenshot of I-95 on google traffic maps this morning. Dark red all the way from downtown to the Old St Aug exit. 4 + wrecks on it. It seems there's always bad wreck at least 2 days out of the 5 day work week.
The last few days, 95 has been a parking lot in the middle of the day. Thank god for Phillips.
Quote from: mtraininjax on February 29, 2012, 10:28:24 PM
As we hit 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 dollar a gallon gas, we will not have to worry about that problem. Thanks to Obama's energy program and the Federal Reserve. It will be cost prohibitive to go anywhere.
*GASP* The teabaggers were WRONG once again. Who'd thunk it?
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on October 14, 2015, 10:20:25 AM
The last few days, 95 has been a parking lot in the middle of the day. Thank god for Phillips.
Well good news.....it won't be long before FDOT decides to add tolled express lanes on our urban freeways!
Just getting back to town! I-95 is a nice ride when no one is on it!
Quote from: thelakelander
By the way, Clay County has some of the worst traffic in the State.
/quote]
Years ago I served on a Clay County SR 21/Blanding Blvd. Citizen's Advisory Committee. County Planner wanted me on board.
The Planner was soon discharged.Dick Post harbored a predictive capability, was prone to warnings.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 14, 2015, 11:39:29 PM
Just getting back to town! I-95 is a nice ride when no one is on it!
Reminds me of a Florida Times Union editorial years ago- Jacksonville only experiences traffic troubles at certain times of the day.
Brilliant.
And my inquiry as to the often then quoted and promoted Wonderwood "Expressway", which ended up rather fragmented,signalization.
The letter to me from the JTA confidently stated that the portion over the waterway,sans traffic lights, was the "Expressway" section.
Collector Series 8)
I am in front of visitors to Jacksonville from parts all over and their comments and observations regards our 'traffic' is informative.
Traffic... it is not too many cars... it is too many drivers... Awesome video! 8)
https://www.youtube.com/v/iHzzSao6ypE
Same thing... much shorter...
https://www.youtube.com/v/Suugn-p5C1M
The Brits chime in... 8)
https://www.youtube.com/v/19S3OdK6710
I guess my less than a mile commute is not the norm. What traffic?
A 1 mile commute in a city that is nearly 800 square miles? Nope, its an exception.
Quote from: mtraininjax on September 01, 2016, 08:10:08 AM
I guess my less than a mile commute is not the norm. What traffic?
I'm kind of with you on that. The most inherent danger in my commute is tripping over a dog.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on September 01, 2016, 07:41:10 AM
The Brits chime in... 8)
https://www.youtube.com/v/19S3OdK6710
Thanks for that BridgeTroll - that was fascinating.
Quote from: Adam White on September 02, 2016, 11:34:34 AM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on September 01, 2016, 07:41:10 AM
The Brits chime in... 8)
https://www.youtube.com/v/19S3OdK6710
Thanks for that BridgeTroll - that was fascinating.
I always wondered about the "Phantom wreck ".
I wonder how accident rates would fare if there was a 600' cellular dead zone affecting all vehicular traffic surrounding all intersections?
I'm really good about putting my phone away while driving, but I can't say I haven't been caught-up 'redlight browsing'.
Thoughts?
Having lived and commuted in Chicago for many years (train, motorcycle, bicycle and car), Jacksonville, even on a bad day is pretty good.
I am 15m normal and 20m on a bad day.
Google Maps is my friend and I am always able to find a re-route in most cases.
The axiom that the most direct route is the quickest way home just doesnt work in Jax all the time.
It is a matter of perspective.
The act of stopping at a red light has changed. What was once an annoyance and something to avoid has turned into the opportunity to text, email, call, or browse. I sometimes get the feeling many would prefer a long stay at the red...
An interactive map showing commute times in the continental US. Pick a zip code and see how we fare...
https://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html#5.00/38.058/-90.613
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rrrt5XmwAyY/WRSzO08s5WI/AAAAAAABBqs/CkM0jMIx_-su5p30yy_3DQmqSweS9q-XQCLcB/s1600/US-Commute.jpg)
Nice find!
That's a pretty cool map, but I wish it included the standard deviation for each zip code. For instance, many people in 32206 likely have under 10 minute commutes, whereas very few people that live in 32259 have commutes that are under 10 minutes, but that fact is obscured by the average which places those two zipcodes only 4 minutes apart.
Did you try zooming in?
Yes, all I see is the average and the estimated error.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on September 02, 2016, 07:59:36 PM
The act of stopping at a red light has changed. What was once an annoyance and something to avoid has turned into the opportunity to text, email, call, or browse. I sometimes get the feeling many would prefer a long stay at the red...
And, we used to zoom around those people. Now, we want nothing to do with them being BEHIND us, while they are being so distracted!
Quote from: TimmyB on May 12, 2017, 01:23:46 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on September 02, 2016, 07:59:36 PM
The act of stopping at a red light has changed. What was once an annoyance and something to avoid has turned into the opportunity to text, email, call, or browse. I sometimes get the feeling many would prefer a long stay at the red...
And, we used to zoom around those people. Now, we want nothing to do with them being BEHIND us, while they are being so distracted!
Exactly... it is kind of sad these people are so addicted to their device they simply CANNOT put it away while driving. Any free moment is used to text some meaningless banter...
Quote from: BridgeTroll on May 12, 2017, 02:25:11 PM
Quote from: TimmyB on May 12, 2017, 01:23:46 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on September 02, 2016, 07:59:36 PM
The act of stopping at a red light has changed. What was once an annoyance and something to avoid has turned into the opportunity to text, email, call, or browse. I sometimes get the feeling many would prefer a long stay at the red...
And, we used to zoom around those people. Now, we want nothing to do with them being BEHIND us, while they are being so distracted!
Exactly... it is kind of sad these people are so addicted to their device they simply CANNOT put it away while driving. Any free moment is used to text some meaningless banter...
It might not be banter.
With the death of decent FM radio, many have shifted to Pandora, You Tube or their personal music collections for material.
I remember a guy was late getting started in 1977 because he was reaching for his box of 8 tracks under the seat to do a quick album swap.
In the early days of driving Ford made it so as to move, you had to push the clutch pedal down to engage the tranny. After all, one didnt need to drive far in those days.
Now with MyFord, Sync, AppleCar, AndroidCar, voice recognition "should" be able to cope with a drivers needs without having to look down.
But in my rental 2017 Chevy Impala last week in Missouri, after allowing it all access to my phone via bluetooth, I still couldnt get the voice control to work properly.
Asking it to call my wife, instead it kept calling my good friends wife.
Asking for Fleetwood Mac music to play off my phone had it go to a local classic rock FM station.
Asking it to pause YouTube while going through a drive up window had my phone search for a video called "Pause".
Until voice command can be perfected, looking down at electronics will be a fact of our life.
Still... really???
Quote from: spuwho on May 12, 2017, 03:53:29 PM
Asking for Fleetwood Mac music to play off my phone had it go to a local classic rock FM station.
Sounds like it did you a solid there :D
Quote from: BridgeTroll on May 12, 2017, 06:28:22 PM
Still... really???
Well, its not electronic, but history is rife with distracted drivers.
The woman weaving on the Eisenhower Expwy in Chicago, just to find out she was trying to get girdle off.
The soccer mom with 2 in the back baby seats and one has a throw up event.
The guy who rear ended someone because something he heard on the radio ticked him off so bad he stop paying attention.
Of course the guy with the hot McD coffee between his legs.
Women turning their rear view mirror towards them so they could put on mascara.
There was the guy on the Dan Ryan in Chicago weaving back and forth across 3 lanes. Turns out his wife was performing an act of marital bliss on him and was losing his focus!
The list of distractions goes on and on. Its just part of driving in the good ole USA.
You just made a great case for why bikes and cars should not share lanes...
That is exactly why I will not ride my bike on roads. Spuwho... those examples are NOT the same as the chronic distraction caused by phones. It's almost Pavlovian... they simply cannot put the device down.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on May 13, 2017, 07:32:23 AM
That is exactly why I will not ride my bike on roads. Spuwho... those examples are NOT the same as the chronic distraction caused by phones. It's almost Pavlovian... they simply cannot put the device down.
The point I was making is that electronic or not, we allow ourselves to be distracted while at the wheel.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on May 13, 2017, 07:32:23 AM
That is exactly why I will not ride my bike on roads. Spuwho... those examples are NOT the same as the chronic distraction caused by phones. It's almost Pavlovian... they simply cannot put the device down.
Yep. It is a chemical dependence in the brain, as strong as any drug. Our roads are a complete nightmare, especially for us that are pedestrians and cyclists.