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Its the "hub and spoke" design of the city's job pattern, bringing too many people into the city in cars. Suburb to suburb commuting by car is the answer.
Lastnight I read that it was the bridges that create natural bottlenecks. However, I have seen bad traffic everywhere in DC and the metro area.
Seems like they need to expand the infrastructure and the public metro system. For an area so rich this shouldnt be a problem.
Which bridges are creating the bottlenecks? So far I only know of 270N being a huge bottleneck at times (since it becomes 3 lanes).
Well so far I've seen some highways adding lanes as well as new developments and projects (purple line) and repaving of roads. The ICC from Georgia ave to I95 opens pretty soon. There is a lot going on here which is good as the projects bring jobs and etc.
Which bridges are creating the bottlenecks? So far I only know of 270N being a huge bottleneck at times (since it becomes 3 lanes).
Well so far I've seen some highways adding lanes as well as new developments and projects (purple line) and repaving of roads. The ICC from Georgia ave to I95 opens pretty soon. There is a lot going on here which is good as the projects bring jobs and etc.
I thought the purple line was still in the planning phase, and its future far from certain. Even if it does get approved it wont be running for years. Still a good idea. I think Maryland should talk with Virginia and see if they would pay to run the purple line through Tyson's corner on the orange, and perhaps even connect with the blue line.
Also they should expand the Red line to Gaithersburg and Germantown. Also have the Marc run both ways at all times, even as far as WV.
Finally they should build another beltway around BC, an outer one.
All of these things could heavily reduce the flow of traffic.
I-66 doesn't help either. It's a big highway out past Centreville but in close-in Virginia it gets pretty damn narrow.
e: The MARC ought to be built on its own rails, so it doesn't get screwed over whenever CSX or Amtrak are using it (since they have right of way).
I had to travel on I66 to get from Virginia to Maryland several times. It is TERRIBLE at all hours of the day, but a nightmare during rush hour. 270 wasnt much better. Traffic in Virginia seems worse than traffic in Maryland.
DC traffic doesnt need to be so bad. A small infrastructure investment from DC, Virginia, and Maryland could save all three areas a lot of money in opportunity costs.
It would be expensive for sure, but billions upon billions of dollars is lost when people sit in traffic all day, and the extra hours people have to spend would also increase productivity.
If the jobs are continued to be be added in downtown DC at the expense of the burbs, the only solution is something radical, like removing either 16th, 13th, 14th Street or Georgia Avenue (or all of them) through eminent domain and building a superhighway there instead.
If the jobs are continued to be be added in downtown DC at the expense of the burbs, the only solution is something radical, like removing either 16th, 13th, 14th Street or Georgia Avenue (or all of them) through eminent domain and building a superhighway there instead.
I thought most of the job growth in the area was now happening in the metro area, especially in Virginia.
You are right though. DC does need more roads into it, along with better Metro access.
It is not the biggest city, or Metro area in the country. It has a good public transportation network, that is always expanding. New infrastructure keeps coming up. Yet traffic keeps getting worse. It took me over 2 hours to go 30 miles the other day. Why is traffic in DC, and surrounding area so bad?
The area has grown too fast for the infrastructure. The fact that there is only one north/south highway and one east/west highway in the entire VA suburbs, and most people commute by car is a recipe for traffic disaster.
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