Jax the 41st Most Traffic Congested Metro in the US

[I-10east]

Jacksonville is the 41st most congested metro in the US, and 133rd in the world. Not too bad, despite that I'll still say the usual 'proactive' talking points: 'Further proof that we need better transit' and blah blah blah.... Istanbul is the world's most congested BTW.

http://www.tomtom.com/en_us/trafficindex/#/list

[KenFSU]

Just for the sake of clarity:

Jacksonville ranked 41st most congested of the 53 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations over 800,000.

An equally appropriate headline might be, "Jacksonville 12th least congested major metropolitan area in America."

There are almost 400 MSAs in America.

Would be interesting to see where Jacksonville stacks up overall.

[I-10east]

^^^Right on.

[jcjohnpaint]

How many lanes vs intensity of traffic.  LA's 405 having 14 lanes does in no way compare to Jacksonville.  I remember living in Pittsburgh/ Philly, where 376  and the Schuykill would back up because it turned into 4 lanes in places. 

[TimmyB]

As a person who has traveled coast to coast looking for a place to live when I retire, I can tell you Jacksonville has no traffic problem, comparatively speaking.  It is incredibly easy to get around in this town, and a bad day at the SJTC beats a normal day in a place such as Austin, and just about anywhere in California.

[copperfiend]

Traffic in places like Los Angeles and DC is hellish. Just a nuisance here.

[mtraininjax]

There should be a poll of when its dry and when it rains. Jax would be closer to number 1 when it rains.

[jcjohnpaint]

no kidding.  It is like anarchy/ mad max

[simms3]

How many lanes vs intensity of traffic.  LA's 405 having 14 lanes does in no way compare to Jacksonville.  I remember living in Pittsburgh/ Philly, where 376  and the Schuykill would back up because it turned into 4 lanes in places. 

The 405 is horrendous.  Trying to get ON the 405 is horrendous.  Luckily, I've never had trouble on it when trying to get to LAX.

As a person who has traveled coast to coast looking for a place to live when I retire, I can tell you Jacksonville has no traffic problem, comparatively speaking.  It is incredibly easy to get around in this town, and a bad day at the SJTC beats a normal day in a place such as Austin, and just about anywhere in California.

I've heard Austin's traffic is brutal because there is only one highway into and out of town (like 4 in Orlando, except worse because there aren't even any alternatives).  CA's traffic is notorious.  LA's highways are stopped up in either direction nearly 24 hours a day.  In the Bay Area there are usually 1-2 highways following the Bay on either side that support 8 million people, so they back up pretty bad.  In SF City, it's probably the closest to "Manhattan" traffic in that due to lights, pedestrians, urban congestion, etc, it can take an hour just to get a few blocks (yes - that is true for a few streets culminating in tough intersections in the financial district).

There should be a poll of when its dry and when it rains. Jax would be closer to number 1 when it rains.

Eh...relative to Jax traffic when it's not raining, lol.


Atlanta traffic from my experience is about as bad as it can get.  Not IN the city, but coming into, going out of, or along the perimeter north of the city and all the roads that feed those highways.  Just horrendous.  I could never live in suburban Atlanta as a result.  I imagine DC's is similar, maybe even a tad worse.  Everyone always talks about how bad S FL traffic is, and I know it is, but I've only ever seen it at its worst/been stuck in it a couple of times, and it didn't seem quite as bad as Atlanta traffic to me.  The worst/slowest traffic I've encountered down there is at the beach, heading south into South Beach.

I would agree with others in that Jax doesn't really have "traffic", but can get a little slow at times.  I've talked to my parents on the phone during rush hour over there where it still took them around ~30-40 minutes to get from SS/JTB to Ortega/Avondale, across town.  To go that distance in that time during basically any part of the day in other cities/metros is all but impossible.  Takes me that amount of time either to ride the bus or walk from my apartment to the financial district, less than 2 miles away (in other words, my daily 2 mile commute each way is about 25-45 minutes depending...try that one on for size).

[mtraininjax]

Traffic in Jax is a picnic compared to Atlanta, 285 or 75/85 in rush hour. Miami is crazy, and Orlando is the worst. I pay to take the toll road around Orlando just to avoid I-4.

[TimmyB]

Yeah, Simms, Austin is just dreadful.  There are simply not enough major roads, as you mention, and if you want to go out to eat dinner at 6 PM, you better leave by 4:30!

Atlanta, which I visit regularly, is not that bad, except in your afternoon crush time of 4-6 PM, and (again, as you noted) on the perimeter.  You get caught in that, your evening is shot!   

[thelakelander]

Jax is the 40th largest MSA in the country. Being the 41st most traffic congested MSA would fall in line, considering our size in comparison with peer communities.

[fsquid]

I hate going to Austin on business.

[finehoe]

When will we wake up to the fact that everyone in their own car trying to go to the same places at the same time is a failed transportation policy?  We can never build enough roads to accommodate them all.

[TimmyB]

When will we wake up to the fact that everyone in their own car trying to go to the same places at the same time is a failed transportation policy?  We can never build enough roads to accommodate them all.

You're preaching to the choir.  I live in Michigan, where the Big Three defeated every single mass transit possibility for decades.  Boy, are we paying for it now.  Too many roads with too few tax dollars to support them, and other than buses, no means to get around in any city.