Jacksonville 34th Most Congested Metro Area
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/483932475_yPec7-M-1.jpg)
According to these rankings, traffic congestion in Jacksonville is a larger problem than it is in Orlando.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/1026
Having lived in 4 of the top 20 areas... Jacksonville traffic is light... 8)
W0W! Boston's Quincy line only made to #10! Takes more than one hr for less than 10 miles drive. Call me crazy cat but that is one of the reasons I moved to Jacksonville. I also remember taking the subway (not the sandwich) to work and it was so crowded that i can lift both of my feet in the air and still standing. LOL.
On a second thought, it appears to me people in Jacksonville are so spoiled. Haha.
Besides a larger number of tollways, how is traffic lighter than Jax's? Hell, how are they not in the top 15?
jacksonville has traffic?
Having driven every day in #4 for almost a decade, JAX is definitely light. One of the reasons I moved here.
Seriously. At least rush hour in Jacksonville is an actual hour (the way I go home at least), unlike the five-hour "rush hours" I experienced in DC. Between the military, government, and civilian workforce, morning rush hour started before 5:00 each morning and ended about 10:00. The afternoon rush started by 3:00 and didn't stop till after 8:00. It would often take me over an hour to go from Tysons Corner to Bethesda or Arlington, a trip of less than 10 miles.
Based on my experiences, the traffic problem in Orlando seems to be concentrated along I-4 between downtown and the theme parks. That could explain why we associate Orlando with such horrible traffic despite its relative low ranking on this list.
Orlando is pretty easy to get around if you get off the interstate and learn the local streets. One thing to point out is that the places ahead (and Orlando) are multiple times larger Jacksonville. In the top 35, excluding Jax most of the names listed are more than twice the size of Jacksonville. Our true peers like Louisville, Hartford, New Orleans and Oklahoma City are further down on the list.
While rush hour may not be as harsh as it is in LA, NYC, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Miami (all have over 5 million residents, we have 1.3 million), we do have a problem that can only be addressed by implementing viable mass transit solutions.
Having extensive driving experience in both #33 and #35, Jacksonville seems misplaced at #34 to me, as I've always found the traffic to be much much lighter.
In most of these bad traffic cities there are locations where you can literally get stuck on the freeway for hours, for no apparent reason. Jax doesn't really have that yet.
Although I tend to avoid the few bad spots for Jax traffic (like Blanding). I suppose we have a couple awful spots that drag the metro down.
My problem with Orlando streets are the speed limits are stupidly low. A major street, like Bumby, is 25mph in a residential area because people bitched too much. Many more streets are like that. Yet, it connects downtown to Curry Ford. However, do not get me started on the insanely bumpy brick streets. I like brick, but Orlando, smooth the crap out.
OKC, I'm surprised. It has an incredible street grid of N-S named avenues and E-W numbered streets, and is easy to get around. A good deal of our problem with traffic can be attributed to our most valuable asset, the river. Now, on the Southside, that is a different case, poor planning and no grid what so ever.
Quote from: Joe on March 03, 2009, 09:25:00 AM
Although I tend to avoid the few bad spots for Jax traffic (like Blanding). I suppose we have a couple awful spots that drag the metro down.
Sometimes we can get to focused on the interstates when it comes to congestion. I would not be suprised if it is the corridors like Blanding, Southside, Beach, Baymeadows, San Jose, JTB and limited river crossings that combine to drag the metro down.
During rush hour, how long does it take to get from downtown to Jax Beach?
So long as Blanding Blvd stays the way it is, traffic will never improve over here. At least on San Jose they made some changes in the past several years and it did help, but every tight spot on any corridor can be directly related to the Interstate.
Well count me in as having lived in: 1, 5, 6, 11, 14, 26, 34, 35, 40, 71, 100
People tend to moan about Jacksonville traffic delays of 30 minutes to an hour here and I have to laugh. I remember heading Westbound into Los Angeles from San Berdoo one sunny afternoon on I-10. Big Mistake, Big, HUGE! As we approached East LA the freeway which was already creeping along, came to a halt. FIVE HOURS LATER everyone around the car knew everyone else... We hadn't moved an inch. When it finally moved a bit I was able to head up the Pasadena to the Foothill Freeways and escape. Total distance maybe 100 miles. Total time about 14 hours. PRICELESS. QuoteScreen Play script from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit..."
DOOM
Right here where we're standing, will
be the cornerstone of my idea... the
cloverleaf -- an elegant cement
structure that intertwines freeways.
VALIANT
What the hell's a freeway?
DOOM
A freeway, Mr. Valiant, is eight lanes
of asphalt running uninterrupted from
L.A. to Pasadena. Pasadena to
Hollywood. Hollywood to Santa Monica.
Someday everyone will be in cars
driving happily, nonstop from one end
of the L.A. Basin to another.
VALIANT
That's what this is all about? Tell
me, who's gonna use your lousy freeway?
We got the Red Cars, the best public
transportation in the country.
Recall if you will, the infamous JTA QUOTE at the Kent Campus BRT meeting, "Those people hate rail, they wish the LRT would just go away, they're going to vote it down." (Light Rail won by a landslide... so much for BRT and JTA).
What were RED CARS? See for yourself... BTW "The Great Streetcar Holocaust", is the THEME of the Movie.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3451/3236579759_8ceb04d1c9.jpg)
OCK takes his first train ride... uh yes sometime in the mid 1950's.
(http://www.erha.org/pesystemmap.gif)
Where did the Pacific Electric go? EVERYWHERE!
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/TRANSIT%20STREETCARS%20TROLLEYS/StreetcarPEcolorsMTALA.jpg)
This is one of the new lines which follow the old lines at a cost of Billions of dollars, can you tell by the paint scheme applied to this LA MTA "Light Rail Car?" Harrumph, Fond memories die hard don't they.
Except for an almost COMPLETE lack of mass transit I don't understand OKC being on this either... NEVER a traffic jam. Now as for Orlando being behind us? HUMBUG! The only thing that might account for that is the disconnect caused by the river, otherwise Orlando has far fewer arterial roads to divert the traffic. (http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/CRITICAL%20Special%20Effects%20Images/GhostofCLE.jpg)
OCKLAWAHA
Quote from: thelakelander on March 03, 2009, 09:45:08 AMSometimes we can get to focused on the interstates when it comes to congestion. I would not be suprised if it is the corridors like Blanding, Southside, Beach, Baymeadows, San Jose, JTB and limited river crossings that combine to drag the metro down.
Indeed, and I shudder to think what some of those corridors will look like once the Southside truly becomes built-out. Only 3 major arterials to the beaches, and only one river-crossing between Downtown and Green Cove. Yikes.
There are still a couple of right-of-way corridors that could impose a little more connectivity. However, so many of them were gobbled up for subdivisions over the past 15 years, I think the Southside might be beyond hope once it reaches true built-out. Imagine once all those woods finally get filled-in PLUS development in the swamps South of JTB.
Good luck getting the Davis family to sell much of that land. A good part can't be built upon anyways because it is wetlands.
Quote from: reednavy on March 03, 2009, 09:30:36 AM
My problem with Orlando streets are the speed limits are stupidly low. A major street, like Bumby, is 25mph in a residential area because people bitched too much.
Reednavy, it's called livable streets. It shows how far more advanced Orlando is in it's thinking about road use. "25mph in a residential area", provides for the safety of "all" road users which include cyclists and pedestrians. Not to mention the noise reduction and calming atmosphere it provides for everyone that has to live, work and play along those streets.
The problem of congestion will not ever be solved with the building of more roads. That only moves the congestion to another location. The problems lies with people living 10 - 20 miles and most times even more away from where they work. How much congestion would be reduced if the majority lived within 5 miles of work and had the option to train, bus or bike to work instead of driving?
Of course that means our city leaders would have to be progressive enough to change the way everything is currently zoned, designed and built. Can this be done with the apathy and ignorance that Jacksonville's general populous puts towards electing it's officials? I seriously doubt it.
I think what all of you are missing, is this survey could be based upon traffic counts....
Jax has a great highway and freeway system that moves cars around the city efficiently.
If you take a look at the link, and see the different categories in the study, statistics show that during peak hours (rush hours) in Jacksonville, traffic accounts for only 50% of the total congestion. In many of the larger cities such as Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles, rush hour traffic accounts for over 60% (some over 70%) of the total volume. This suggests that Jacksonville's traffic patterns are more evenly distributed throughout the day and traffic is not so concentrated during "rush hour." It also explains why in Jacksonville, it is relatively rare to experience a 5 hour drive to work from the suburbs as one would in those larger cities.
Despite some of the downsides of Jacksonville's infrastructure, I'd say some of these stats speak louder than just the sheer volume of traffic.
I can see the Fuller Warren and the I-95/I-10 junction from my office. For nearly a month, I have noticed the pace of traffic crawl to where motorists would probably rear-end another vehicle if they let their cars coast.
One day I was even able to keep track of a delivery truck for 15 minutes.
I decided to enter 95 South from Park and it tooks me 45 minutes to reach the JTB exit with no accidents or other activity.
Another afternoon it took nearly an hour to drive the Southside Corridor from Merrill to Southside to Philips.
It took 75 minutes to drive from Park and Stockton, down Blanding and then to 220.
Sure, we aren't LA, Chicago, NYC or even Miami, but we have far fewer residents and the commute times are increasing--even without a traffic crash.
why not move to down town :D :D :D :D
It's good to live downtown, close to work. I don't miss the drive in from Jax Beach one bit.
I'm lucky I live close enough to walk to work. I live in Riverside and from my front door to the office in Brooklyn is only 1.4 miles.
I only have to put gas in my car once each month.
Love it.
I was surprised Honolulu was so low at 38. I guess its the small population there because I have driven in Honolulu for 8 years. There is only one way into that city from the rest of the island, H1 interstate, with extremely low speed limits for freeways. It can take upwards of 1.5 to 2 hours to travel 3 miles. Jacksonville, IMO, is not nearly as congested as Honolulu and definitely Boston, two other major cities I've lived in.
Quote from: Joe on March 03, 2009, 01:14:23 PM
Quote from: thelakelander on March 03, 2009, 09:45:08 AMSometimes we can get to focused on the interstates when it comes to congestion. I would not be suprised if it is the corridors like Blanding, Southside, Beach, Baymeadows, San Jose, JTB and limited river crossings that combine to drag the metro down.
Indeed, and I shudder to think what some of those corridors will look like once the Southside truly becomes built-out. Only 3 major arterials to the beaches, and only one river-crossing between Downtown and Green Cove. Yikes.
There are still a couple of right-of-way corridors that could impose a little more connectivity. However, so many of them were gobbled up for subdivisions over the past 15 years, I think the Southside might be beyond hope once it reaches true built-out. Imagine once all those woods finally get filled-in PLUS development in the swamps South of JTB.
That is the one major chunck of land I would HATE to see developed. That would make an amazing urban oasis if it were outfitted with camping areas, hiking/biking trails, etc.
I would imagine that the new I-95/I-10 interchange might ease some congestion and possible bring us further down in the rank...I hope.
^My prediction is that congestion points will pop up where all the new lanes merge back down to three.
Precisely. Just look at the rebuilt I95/I295 interchange. A simple continuation of the I295 northbound lanes down to St. Augustine road would solve a lot of the problem.
I think depending on where you live traffic is horrible. I remember in my downtown days that getting there from Fleming Island was the worst. It would take 45 minutes to get from 220 to 295 on 17. I think part of the problem is that there are only 3 major ways to get out of Clay into Duval.
And Blanding between 295 and Wells on a Saturday....forget it....
Who's bright idea was it to make I-295 3 lanes when you have a four lane bridge, seriously.
Trolleys? Are we for real, a recession and we want to have the JTA spend its woeful resources on trolleys? Uh, we already have a mayor who wants to save 200 million dollars based on the math of his former inspiration, the former knucklehead of JEA who lost millions for the city in the stock market...Someone calling Walt Bussells for a job on Wall Street to sweep it?
There is no way that Orlando is better traffic than Jax. Maybe it rains more here, and we included the WHOLE county compared to the parking lot that is I-4, at 55. Maybe because we don't have an HOV lane on 95, maybe because we had shortsightedness in 96 when we made 95 3 lanes without an HOV, maybe, maybe, maybe.
No way, those people in that survey are on some good Springfield crack.
i drove 20+ years in #2, jax is a dream, the realization of current heavy duty interstate work will make jax comfortable for the foreseeable future.
ok, its my opinion. hit me with your best shots.
^Congestion is not the only reason for investments in mass transit. Though the commute from clay county is very long we basically we have it good in town. The idea that you have to be a city wide parking lot before you can move to make the quality of life better in your area is sad. Fixed rail transit helps people design how your community will grow, spurs economic development and gives people alternatives. You know why some communities have better transit than others not because they let their area become some traffic jam hell hole then moved on it. They just wanted it and invested in their city. The people with the weeds should do the most gardening but I think you will find the people with the beautiful gardens actually do even though they need it the least. I lobby for commuter rail, street cars, skyway and expanded Amtrak service because I want it. Yes we will be fine for the foreseeable future. For my toenail clippers, push broom and car floor mats fine is fine. For how I want my community to grow and prosper I would like to do better.
Cities less congested than Jacksonville with rail on this list.
36. Cleveland (light rail, heavy rail)
37. Las Vegas (monorail)
39. Providence (commuter rail)
42. New Orleans (streetcar)
44. New Haven (commuter rail)
45. Indianapolis (peoplemover - limited like the skyway)
46. Milwaukee (Amtrak corridor service - similar to limited stop express commuter rail)
50. Salt Lake City (light rail, commuter rail)
JeffreyS, good points. Congestion should not be viewed as the top reason for investing in alternative forms of transit. The quality of life aspect should be a higher priority. Its well proven that rail can serve as an economic development catalyst for the communities it serves. We should take advantage of this opportunity when it presents itself. Right now, the opportunity continues to knock on our door.