Study: Atlanta traffic better than thought (employment, construction, live in)

[waronxmas]

Well isn't this interesting:

Study: Atlanta traffic better than thought *| ajc.com

Has Atlanta lost its cruel crown?

For at least 12 years, the traffic report Urban Mobility -- the gold standard of traffic studies, a regular in Congressional testimony and a key weapon in Georgia’s fight for regional transportation funding -- ranked Atlanta’s congestion as the nation’s worst or near it.

But driven by new GPS data, the authors of Urban Mobility say Atlanta actually has the nation’s 10th worst traffic, not its third-worst.

And what has caused this change:

Among other things, the study’s authors said, traffic solutions such as Georgia Navigator and HERO units have made life on the road better in ways they weren’t able to fully count using their old methods.

...

Tractor-trailer wrecks used to take an average of four hours to clear from a highway, effectively blocking all traffic in the meantime. That's down to 94 minutes on average since a new program focused on speeding up removal started in 2007, according to the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

[mike7586]

I think it has more to do with the unemployment rate and the slow down in growth...

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by mike7586

I think it has more to do with the unemployment rate and the slow down in growth...

I doubt it. The unemployment rate is only double what it was prior to the recession (4%), while during that same period we added about 300,000 people. It may have a little effect, but since we're still growing like crazy the fact that our traffic is not getting any worse is a sign of something happening.

[blondandfun]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

I doubt it. The unemployment rate is only double what it was prior to the recession (4%), while during that same period we added about 300,000 people. It may have a little effect, but since we're still growing like crazy the fact that our traffic is not getting any worse is a sign of something happening.

The gov't unemployment numbers only counts those receiving benefits as unemployed. Not only reverting back to 1930's std raise it considerably, you also have a large immigrant population here in construction that was wiped off the map. Those people don't go to the unemployment office, so that adds to it. I suspect it's more like 50% in Georgia and 20-30% in the rest of the country.

Also, there are 1,000,000 in Georgia on food stamps. That's over 10% of the population.

Welcome to reality.

[BobKovacs]

I've always said you guys over-exaggerate the traffic here. Anyone who has ever lived in NJ, CA, DC, etc., knows that the traffic here is nothing by comparison.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by blondandfun

The gov't unemployment numbers only counts those receiving benefits as unemployed. Not only reverting back to 1930's std raise it considerably, you also have a large immigrant population here in construction that was wiped off the map. Those people don't go to the unemployment office, so that adds to it. I suspect it's more like 50% in Georgia and 20-30% in the rest of the country.

50% of the population is unemployed? That's a crazy stat even for you blondandfun.

Originally Posted by blondandfun

Also, there are 1,000,000 in Georgia on food stamps. That's over 10% of the population.

1. What does that have to do with anything? Plenty of people on food stamps have jobs. I'd wager most do.

2. All 1 million don't live in and around Atlanta. Georgia is a big state, so that is obviously spread out over several cities. Also, I REALLY have no idea what this has to do with the thread topic.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

I've always said you guys over-exaggerate the traffic here. Anyone who has ever lived in NJ, CA, DC, etc., knows that the traffic here is nothing by comparison.

I agree. That whole "Atlanta traffic is horrible!" is a meme that has somehow taken on a life of its own. In reality, except for some of the freeways at rush hour, Atlanta traffic isn't bad at all. That's especially true in the intown areas.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

I've always said you guys over-exaggerate the traffic here. Anyone who has ever lived in NJ, CA, DC, etc., knows that the traffic here is nothing by comparison.

nah, traffic is pretty awful here. personal comparison: i spent three years in detroit, a metro with a larger urbanized area @ double the density of atlanta (3000+ per square mile vs 1780) and no viable rapid transit system, and traffic there was much lighter, even in the metro. our freeways might not be all that bad, but the surface streets in the city and suburbs equally are hell on earth certain times of the day.

Originally Posted by arjay57

I agree. That whole "Atlanta traffic is horrible!" is a meme that has somehow taken on a life of its own. In reality, except for some of the freeways at rush hour, Atlanta traffic isn't bad at all. That's especially true in the intown areas.

i live at lindbergh and cheshire bridge, and traffic on lindbergh between 85 and cheshire CRAWLS. cheshire itself crawls. plenty of surface streets east of me, i wouldn't dare to venture anwhere in NE atlanta (clairmont, n druid hills, briarcliff, lavista etc) between 4:30 and 7p. some of the worst traffic i've been in in my life, second only to some of the stuff i've experienced up in johns creek/duluth.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by cabasse

nah, traffic is pretty awful here. personal comparison: i spent three years in detroit, a metro with a larger urbanized area @ double the density of atlanta (3000+ per square mile vs 1780) and no viable rapid transit system, and traffic there was much lighter, even in the metro. our freeways might not be all that bad, but the surface streets in the city and suburbs equally are hell on earth certain times of the day.

You do understand why that is, right? There are hardly any large employers in the city center. They don't have a rush hour towards downtown because there is no one to rush there.

[cabasse]

^ i was referring to their suburbs, in the areas around their still-functioning employment centers. (dearborn, farmington hills, novi, troy, etc) my apologies for the bad wording. suburban detroit has remained relatively healthy through the past few decades, even while their city center crumbles. i was never trying to compare the actual city.