Highest traffic counts in your city?

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by JManc

Katy Freeway (I-10) here in Houston west of town.

wow that is massive.

[dimondpark]

At 4:24 PM

San Francisco-Sacramento
Distance: 88 Miles
Drive Time: 2hrs 53 mins.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

There's actually more traffic that travels down Orchard Lake Rd than Northwestern Hwy. You have to keep in mind what traffic is like off peak hours. Roads with a lot of shopping areas have more continuous traffic flow throughout the day which ups the counts.

Are you sure 12 and Telegraph was busiest? The articles I found call it dangerous in terms of traffic accidents.

I might be thinking about the interchange between Telegraph Rd. and the Lodge/Northwestern Hwy (do they still call it the Mixing Bowl?). At one point something around there had the busiest X title in Michigan... And yeah, I do know that Telegraph and 12 Mile is often the most accident prone intersection in the state.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

At 4:24 PM

San Francisco-Sacramento
Distance: 88 Miles
Drive Time: 2hrs 53 mins.

we get it.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

Yeah, I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you're not familiar with the 75 mile drive down/up I-35 between San Antonio and Austin. Gridlock through several stretches of that route in each direction 7 days of the week.

If I go from Austin to San Antonio, I take 290 to 281 and then south. It's still very heavy (getting through Oak Hill leaving Austin can be pure hell), and it's longer in distance, but I'll do anything to avoid I-35. Anything. Same with the trip from Austin to DFW. Not only gridlock but dangerous largely because of truck traffic that is so thick you can get walled in on all sides. That is punishment of the worst kind. To get to DFW I usually take highways to the west of I-35. Pretty countryside and somewhat relaxing. Nothing will make me drive I-35.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

If I go from Austin to San Antonio, I take 290 to 281 and then south. It's still very heavy (getting through Oak Hill leaving Austin can be pure hell), and it's longer in distance, but I'll do anything to avoid I-35. Anything. Same with the trip from Austin to DFW. Not only gridlock but dangerous largely because of truck traffic that is so thick you can get walled in on all sides. That is punishment of the worst kind. To get to DFW I usually take highways to the west of I-35. Pretty countryside and somewhat relaxing. Nothing will make me drive I-35.

Yeah, 35 between Austin and SA is annoying as possible. Its not completely stopped like I experience on 95 a lot in the DC area but its almost worse(for the brain). Its like stop and go...and then go fast...then SLAM on the brakes type traffic. And as you said, the amount of trucks makes it feel very unsafe.

I've taken 130 a couple of times and it was like being on a highway in Arkansas. Sure, you're gonna pay a lot in tolls and it takes you way out of the way, but for my mental state, it works sometimes.

[Innsertnamehere]

130’s 85mph limit would be nice.. Ontario’s 62mph (100km/h) limit gets old pretty quick.

Are those numbers for LA AADT or just average weekday? If they are AADT then the 401 may have finally been passed..

[JManc]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Yeah, 35 between Austin and SA is annoying as possible. Its not completely stopped like I experience on 95 a lot in the DC area but its almost worse(for the brain). Its like stop and go...and then go fast...then SLAM on the brakes type traffic. And as you said, the amount of trucks makes it feel very unsafe.

I've taken 130 a couple of times and it was like being on a highway in Arkansas. Sure, you're gonna pay a lot in tolls and it takes you way out of the way, but for my mental state, it works sometimes.

35 in Austin, particularity right in town, is an absolute nightmare and is just as bad as DC.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

130’s 85mph limit would be nice.. Ontario’s 62mph (100km/h) limit gets old pretty quick.

Are those numbers for LA AADT or just average weekday? If they are AADT then the 401 may have finally been passed..

2017 AADT for the 60 Freeway at Fairway is 461,000.

[dimondpark]

Sacramento-San Francisco:
Saturday 9:57 AM
Distance: 88 miles
Time: 2hrs 2mins

Austin-San Antonio:
Saturday 12:00 PM
Distance; 80 miles
Time: 1hr 34mins

Milwaukee-Chicago:
Saturday 12:08 AM
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1hr 55mins

San Diego-Los Angeles:
Saturday 10:10 AM
Distance: 127 miles
Time: 2hrs 19mins

Philadelphia-New York:
Saturday 1:11 PM
Distance: 94 miles
Time: 1hr 54mins

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

Sacramento-San Francisco:
Saturday 9:57 AM
Distance: 88 miles
Time: 2hrs 2mins

Austin-San Antonio:
Saturday 12:00 PM
Distance; 80 miles
Time: 1hr 34mins

Milwaukee-Chicago:
Saturday 12:08 AM
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1hr 55mins

San Diego-Los Angeles:
Saturday 10:10 AM
Distance: 127 miles
Time: 2hrs 19mins

Philadelphia-New York:
Saturday 1:11 PM
Distance: 94 miles
Time: 1hr 54mins

- assuming you're referring to p.m. - not a.m. - for Chicago-Milwaukee.

- although the distances and times listed above are objective, the "feels like" aspect of the times associated with each commute referenced is completely subjective. For example, with Austin to San Antonio, you essentially "feel like" you're in San Antonio when you're 10 miles south of New Braunfels, and vice-versa when you hit Buda in South Austin.

Same can be said for L.A./San Diego (although that's even more subjective, because to me, Orange County still feels like L.A. due to the endless urbanity between DTLA and San Clemente, and pretty much everything south of Oceanside feels like San Diego); Chicago/Milwaukee (Gurnee/Caledonia); New York/Philadelphia (perhaps the most subjective of all as the southernmost and northernmost points of the MSAs urban fabric essentially blends together) and yes, even San Francisco/Sacramento (roughly Fairfield/Davis).

Listing "commute times" between each MSA doesn't take the real-world human feel aspect into consideration. It would be more effective to reference a specific Point A to Point B for comparison purposes.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

2017 AADT for the 60 Freeway at Fairway is 461,000.

Are you sure? That’s only an 8+2 HOV configuration at that location.. that’s a lot of cars to throughput with that capacity. Compare to the 401 which has 15-16 lanes (60+% more capacity) with no HOVs and it’s congested nearly constantly. Plus I always heard that the 405 between 605 and 22 was the busiest in LA (and the US).

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Are you sure? That’s only an 8+2 HOV configuration at that location.. that’s a lot of cars to throughput with that capacity. Compare to the 401 which has 15-16 lanes (60+% more capacity) with no HOVs and it’s congested nearly constantly. Plus I always heard that the 405 between 605 and 22 was the busiest in LA (and the US).

I appreciate your skepticism given the context, but yes--the California Department of Transportation ("Caltrans") is reporting that count for the 60 freeway at Fairway Drive in the City of Industry for the year 2017 (newest available) on its website. Caltrans affirms that traffic counting is "generally performed by electronic counting instruments."

Go for the "by Webpage" option, as the Excel spreadsheet currently isn't available (because Caltrans). I chose the "Back AADT" count, rather than Ahead AADT, Back Peak Month or Ahead Peak Month, as it is in the middle of the pack. All counts for 60 @ Fairway range between 429,000 and 490,000.

Additionally, there is another stretch of the 60, at Nogales Street in Rowland Heights (about a mile from Fairway), with an Ahead AADT of 461,000--so either way, we have good reason to accept this is in fact the California freeway with the highest traffic counts.

But why? I am beginning to suspect this is not because of unusually heavy daytime volume, but rather, because of typically high (for LA) daytime volume plus relatively high overnight traffic counts. Wikipedia and the article I linked to and quoted above both note significant truck traffic between the massive LA/Long Beach port complex and railroad and truck distribution centers in the Inland Empire. Presumably, there are also a lot of trucks that just keep on truckin' out into a nation that is very hungry for Asian imports. A lot of truckers prefer to roll at night, when commuters are generally off the road. But that's just a theory, I could be completely wrong about why this is such a busy stretch of freeway.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^also, most of the cities in the top 10 on that list have the most robust transit infrastructure in the nation.

so they do give many people a choice if they work downtown: sit in traffic or sit on the train and check emails, proofread a report, read the news, watch a show, whatever.

smart phones/tablets allow train time to be productive time. it's not really a wasted 40 minutes like sitting in the linear parking lot known as the kennedy "expressway" is.

This is true. Although it is 2019 and we have invented car mounts...podcasts + Netflix. If traffic is super sh*tty then it's very easy to follow the dialogue and catch a glimpse of Stranger Things.

But back to the other point: What percentage of people take commuter rail or subway in America? And of that percentage, what percentage actually have a seat? And of those that are fortunate enough to have a seat [beacuse they live in an exurban park n ride location], what percentage feel comfortable enough to not disturb other riders to pull out their tablet/laptop to send an email, or create a spreadsheet on excel?

An empty bus or commuter train, ok sure. I've done homework on Amtrak during college, but most office workers are commuting at peak travel times. Most people enjoy this time to say F' Off to their bosses and jam out with their Air Pods, checking IG, while tuning out the Riff Raff in the background.

I'm speaking from experience.

Back before most woke folk were born [The Year 2000!, lol -- Conan reference.] and it became #trendy, I was woke. Some would even say: super Woke. <--Hate to admit that. I'm less woke now because I enjoy the comfort of my own personal vehicle with my own climate control, with my own music/talk radio, with my own spacious comfortable seat, with my own safety to be concerned with/of, etc etc etc., I can send and receive texts/calls now via Bluetooth --

Back in the good ol' days, I didn't even own a car, I was restricted to the subway/train to go anywhere and everywhere. It sucked then and it sucks now, especially if you're a commuter that deals with the onslaught of the commuter crush. B.O. on the subway is a real issue. I have never once checked or responded to an email while standing shoulder to shoulder, hanging on for dear life to not knock over or fall on the grandma with 8 bags next to me.

One more thing, I've never once had to square up with some random warrior in my car, on the train/subway, yes a few times -- and for no reason.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

2017 AADT for the 60 Freeway at Fairway is 461,000.

On a Friday afternoon, it took me about 5 hours to drive about 115 miles in SoCal.

This happens just about every single weekend.

Lot's of stop and go on the freeways -- which is tiresome because you're constantly aware of the sudden stop from 70 mph, to a crawl, back to a sudden acceleration, back to a stop.

-----

Side Note: I go to Vegas fairly often and I always schedule my departure and return based off of the traffic flow/volume/predictions. Even after getting to the 15 it can be really bad [stopped] 100 miles from the nearest desert town.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Yeah, 35 between Austin and SA is annoying as possible. Its not completely stopped like I experience on 95 a lot in the DC area but its almost worse(for the brain). Its like stop and go...and then go fast...then SLAM on the brakes type traffic. And as you said, the amount of trucks makes it feel very unsafe.

I've taken 130 a couple of times and it was like being on a highway in Arkansas. Sure, you're gonna pay a lot in tolls and it takes you way out of the way, but for my mental state, it works sometimes.

The 130 tollway is pretty nice. Anyone wanting to bypass Austin completely (either coming from north or south) can use it. I haven't found the tolls to be too bad. I even use it to go to the airport from north or northwest Austin. I've noticed, though, that traffic is starting to get heavier on 130, and truck traffic is picking up. Recently, I picked up friends at the airport and was taking them to Round Rock on 130, and we encountered a large overturned truck. We were stuck for about an hour before the truck could be pulled off the highway. Traffic was backed up for at least 10 miles. It reminded me of a typical afternoon on I-35 in the city (without accidents).

[chris08876]

The best times to be on any interstates are between the hours of 2 am to 4 am. Its also the time range when the street racers are out. If your ever in the tri-state area, keep this in mind. You will see vehicles doing in excess of 120 mph+. So if you see a pair of headlights approaching your car or truck, and now its gone, don't panic... stay calm... have a cigarette, and know that its not an alien, its just a heavily modified ricer or an M5/M3 passing you by. No need to panic!

Just watch out for tri-state deer. They love to come out at night and commit suicide on the highway. Especially during the rut season, where male deer chase female deer, and so they run in front of a moving car, get hit, explode in a mist of blood and red, and than get moved to the side of the road so that during rush hour, children can ask their mom what happened, and mom is put on the spot, struggles to tell the kids because she hasn't had her coffee yet, and thus... a kid learns what the world is really about, one dead deer at a time.

And they don't bother to remove the deer for several days, so you can also learn how organic material decays, one dead deer at a time. Its why NJ has a good educational system. You learn at school, via textbooks, and than you see real life applications of the concepts on our pot-hole infested roads littered with dead deer, crushed squirrels, and sometimes random debris like couches and tire treads on our roads.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

Sacramento-San Francisco:
Saturday 9:57 AM
Distance: 88 miles
Time: 2hrs 2mins

Austin-San Antonio:
Saturday 12:00 PM
Distance; 80 miles
Time: 1hr 34mins

Milwaukee-Chicago:
Saturday 12:08 AM
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1hr 55mins

San Diego-Los Angeles:
Saturday 10:10 AM
Distance: 127 miles
Time: 2hrs 19mins

Philadelphia-New York:
Saturday 1:11 PM
Distance: 94 miles
Time: 1hr 54mins

Put another way, the results of the above analysis are a bit more revealing:

The Sacramento to San Franciso drive travels at .72 miles per minute or 43.27 mph.

The Austin to San Antonio drive travels at .85 miles per minute or 51 mph

The Milwaukee to Chicago drive travels at .8 miles per minute or 48 mph

The San Diego to Los Angeles drive travels at .91 miles per minute or 54.6 mph.

The Philadelphia to New York trip travels at .75 miles per minute or 47.39 mph.

The Sacramento to SF drive is the most sluggish.

[10023]

Originally Posted by JManc

Katy Freeway (I-10) here in Houston west of town.

That’s horrific. Absolutely disgusting.

[The ATX]

Ever since the area of the infamous downtown Houston parking lot photo (see below) was rebuilt, that I-10 freeway shot has become the defacto I hate Houston photo.