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It looks like I’m the only poster who finds CLT traffic a nightmare. Maybe everyone else is accustomed to it. I still would love a real, well planned highway with exits instead of stop lights.
Charlotte traffic IS a nightmare. I think most of the people saying not so must be real estate salesmen....lol
Everyone ALWAYS compares the traffic to NYC or Boston. I am so tired of the comparison. Everyone time this topic comes up someone always draws that parallel. Your opinion from driving through Interstate 95 during rush hour on your family vacation doesn't count, and adds no value to this conversation. The question not how bad is the traffic is, you need to read between the lines, it is more likely why are the drivers so jacked up? Someone from NYC or Boston area moves here and asks an observational question...For example, for the size of Charlotte why is the traffic so bad, and why do the drivers not seem to know what they are doing? My observations over 7 years.
1. Left lane drivers impeding traffic
2. Local police who do not enforce traffic laws
3. Mental illness
4. Out of towners not knowing where they are going
5. Infrastructure challenges and too many people on the road for that infrastructure
6. Personality traits. Passive aggressiveness. Slowing down in the left hand lane is ALSO road rage | Insecurity: People just do not want to lose so simply move to the right lane
8. Distracted drivers (growing issue everywhere
9. The mix of people having different driving styles from different states does not mesh well.
10....i can go on and write this better but it is intended for a quick brain dump.
Everyone ALWAYS compares the traffic to NYC or Boston. I am so tired of the comparison. Everyone time this topic comes up someone always draws that parallel. Your opinion from driving through Interstate 95 during rush hour on your family vacation doesn't count, and adds no value to this conversation. The question not how bad is the traffic is, you need to read between the lines, it is more likely why are the drivers so jacked up? Someone from NYC or Boston area moves here and asks an observational question...For example, for the size of Charlotte why is the traffic so bad, and why do the drivers not seem to know what they are doing? My observations over 7 years.
1. Left lane drivers impeding traffic
2. Local police who do not enforce traffic laws
3. Mental illness
4. Out of towners not knowing where they are going
5. Infrastructure challenges and too many people on the road for that infrastructure
6. Personality traits. Passive aggressiveness. Slowing down in the left hand lane is ALSO road rage | Insecurity: People just do not want to lose so simply move to the right lane
8. Distracted drivers (growing issue everywhere
9. The mix of people having different driving styles from different states does not mesh well.
10....i can go on and write this better but it is intended for a quick brain dump.
....Keyboard warriors will not be responded to.
Most of these happen all over the country. Honestly the main complaint that I've seen with Charlotte traffic is that often times drivers are too nice - for example if a lane ends I've seen where one car will let in a ton of others which ultimately makes that lane hardly move.
The big issue to me is everyone is texting and changing lanes quickly cutting people off and speeding at the same time. NEVER accommodate anyone who is on the cell phone. They dont deserve it.
The big issue to me is everyone is texting and changing lanes quickly cutting people off and speeding at the same time. NEVER accommodate anyone who is on the cell phone. They dont deserve it.
And that is the case everywhere these days. I think people that have lived in Charlotte for 15+ years and try to say other cities aren’t as bad forget that cell phone use wasn’t as prominent back then.
Charlotte has transplants from small towns and big cities as well. Some of us have visited or traveled to big cities frequently and some of us have not. So, we all have different perceptions. But the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Most people living here know that I-77 on the north and south side is a nightmare. But it has improved with the addition of the express lanes on the north side. I would think that most people understand that I-85 traffic is not too bad except at the I-85 and I-485 interchange in west CLT. There are other pockets of bad traffic such as I-485 on the the south side, but overall traffic is not that bad.
Of course, someone from a smaller city or metro would gauge it differently than someone from Boston or Atlanta. But most of us agree that CLT has been shortchanged by NCDOT. Unless NCDOT can stay ahead of the curve then larger traffic problems are on the horizon. Since most of the rapid growth is in York County, Union County, and Cabarrus County then most of the problems will be on the south side except for I-77 north and it will continue to be a problem.
The traffic in Charlotte is bad because the city did not plan to become much more than a wide spot in the road before 1970.
What were once nice, quiet, narrow neighborhood roads are now narrow major conduits going to and from uptown that are jammed during rush hours, and it'll likely stay that way.
Providence, Sharon Road, Woodlawn, South Boulevard, Park Road, Kings Road, East Blvd. and Selwin could be widened to eight lanes. Of course, that would mean that the roads would come up to home owners' door steps, and businesses would be drastically affected as exemplified by the street widening on Wendover and Eastway through the years.
Several years ago, it was proposed that all of the banks' corporate offices and other business' corporate offices be located in Ballantyne where the head honchos live. That idea never got off the ground. It was a great idea. That was before Ballantyne wanted to become separate from Charlotte. That was a really good idea too. That would have reduced traffic going to uptown by imposing road use taxes and a stiff toll upon Ballantynians in order for them to enter the city of Charlotte.
Perhaps a better idea would be to build elevated tolled highways traveling from the southern exurbs over Myers Park, Dilworth, SouthPark and South End to uptown.
That's as good a deal as the folks in Huntersville, Cornelius, and Concord got, with the I-77 Wonderway, maybe better.
Maybe a better solution for the future is for the city to say NO to growth.
I prefer solutions to endless complaints.
Last edited by Langerhans; 08-06-2020 at 11:17 AM..
Several years ago, it was proposed that all of the banks' corporate offices and other business' corporate offices be located in Ballantyne where the head honchos live. That idea never got off the ground. It was a great idea. That was before Ballantyne wanted to become separate from Charlotte. That was a really good idea too. That would have reduced traffic going to uptown by imposing road use taxes and a stiff toll upon Ballantynians in order for them to enter the city of Charlotte.
THIS IDEA IS GREAT! Short commute + good public schools= happy employees
Why do you think it didn’t work out? Is there a Wells Fargo facility in the Ballentyne area or am I mistaken?
THIS IDEA IS GREAT! Short commute + good public schools= happy employees
Why do you think it didn’t work out? Is there a Wells Fargo facility in the Ballentyne area or am I mistaken?
Yes, 10 floors overlooking the golf course. nice complex, totally empty for the past 3 months and into the foreseeable future for sure. Offices are closed until October at the earliest.
The traffic in Charlotte is bad because the city did not plan to become much more than a wide spot in the road before 1970.
What were once nice, quiet, narrow neighborhood roads are now narrow major conduits going to and from uptown that are jammed during rush hours, and it'll likely stay that way.
Providence, Sharon Road, Woodlawn, South Boulevard, Park Road, Kings Road, East Blvd. and Selwin could be widened to eight lanes. Of course, that would mean that the roads would come up to home owners' door steps, and businesses would be drastically affected as exemplified by the street widening on Wendover and Eastway through the years.
Several years ago, it was proposed that all of the banks' corporate offices and other business' corporate offices be located in Ballantyne where the head honchos live. That idea never got off the ground. It was a great idea. That was before Ballantyne wanted to become separate from Charlotte. That was a really good idea too. That would have reduced traffic going to uptown by imposing road use taxes and a stiff toll upon Ballantynians in order for them to enter the city of Charlotte.
Perhaps a better idea would be to build elevated tolled highways traveling from the southern exurbs over Myers Park, Dilworth, SouthPark and South End to uptown.
That's as good a deal as the folks in Huntersville, Cornelius, and Concord got, with the I-77 Wonderway, maybe better.
Maybe a better solution for the future is for the city to say NO to growth.
I prefer solutions to endless complaints.
Easier said than done. Once the city allows a large building or any development, it's damn near impossible to tell another land owner they can't build one on their piece of property. It takes away the inherent value of said property. Lawsuits will be on the horizon.
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