Denver Traffic; 3rd Worst in the USA? (Highlands Ranch, Parker: transplants, house)

[downtownnola]

I thought this article was interesting...

http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20866792/ (broken link)

No surprise... almost every major California city made the top of the list for the worst traffic. It's also interesting that Denver's traffic is worse than some larger cities like Phoenix, Detroit, Philadelphia and Boston...

[ViagraAddict]

Thats because everybody in this metro is a urban sprawlist and depends on suvs, highways, and their two car garage house in some suburb. There is very minimal REAL city living here, even IN THE CITY. Five points is the closest you have to a real city area, and even it looks like an older suburb town to one of the real cities along the west or east coast.

[vfrpilot]

Boy, I'm suprised that Denver is ranked worse than Phoenix. It seems like the jams are much longer there. I haven't been there for a year, so maybe it's better now.

[Luke9686]

I'm not a fan of these reports. I used to live in Boston, and the traffic there is MUCH worse than Denver's. They only calculate certain factors. I also live in San Jose, and the traffic in Boston is worse than here also.

Not only is it congested in Boston, you have to deal with raging lunatics behind the wheel.

Plus they only look at the rush hour times. Boston has rush hour for about 15 hours a day. It was way worse before the big dig was completed too.

[gpraceman]

Seems like that report is reflecting the extra congestion caused by the T-Rex project construction.

[BabyBoomers2]

No, No, No........the Denver metro traffic has gotten quite worse since we first got here in June 2002. And, it's not just the traffic on the 25, it's also the traffic in other areas, like the 70 at 3:30 PM Mon-Fri. The 470 going thru Highlands Ranch (west bound) can be a real "parking lot" at 5PM during the week and Parker Rd. can also be a "parking lot" nowadays due to the population growth that has happened in Parker. However, it's a breeze driving thru Denver on the weekend (most of the time). You ask some folks who work in downtown Denver and drive on the 25 at 7AM.......it can be very crowded. The same goes for that 5PM traffic going south on 25 during the week. I have to be at work in downtown Denver at 7AM and hit virtually NO heavy traffic going north on the 25 at 6:30AM.......BUT, I do see it increasing by the week.
Say what you will, but Denver is getting it's share of traffic problems with more and more people moving into the Denver metro area.

[tfox]

Cost of construction materials is increasing dramatically, but CDOT's budget is actually declining in real terms every year due to the fixed fuel tax which supports CDOT. Currently, CDOT barely has enough funds to maintain existing roads, much less build any new ones.

Last election cycle the voters shot down referendum D for additional transportation funding, so the voters have spoken loud and clear: they are not interested in additional transportation funding.

The traffic problems will have to apparently get worse before they get better.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

The 470 going thru Highlands Ranch (west bound) can be a real "parking lot" at 5PM during the week

Still prone to exaggeration I see. I live in HR and I do think that is an exaggeration. C-470 can get congested, but it is not often a "parking lot". Traffic at least moves.

You must not be familiar with SoCal traffic, which has 3 of the top 10 spots on that list. I'd be more inclined to characterize SoCal traffic as a "parking lot". I often experienced stop and go traffic on I-5 from Carlsbad to San Diego on a Sunday no less! You don't see that here.

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Say what you will, but Denver is getting it's share of traffic problems with more and more people moving into the Denver metro area.

On that I would agree.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

Still prone to exaggeration I see. I live in HR and I do think that is an exaggeration. C-470 can get congested, but it is not often a "parking lot". Traffic at least moves.

You must not be familiar with SoCal traffic, which has 3 of the top 10 spots on that list. I'd be more inclined to characterize SoCal traffic as a "parking lot". I often experienced stop and go traffic on I-5 from Carlsbad to San Diego on a Sunday no less! You don't see that here.

Yeah that's how I see it. Denver get traffic, but it doesn't have the constant bumper to bumper SoCal has. I've driven south 25 to west 470 in the evening. Yes, its slow and yes the major exits like Quebec back up. But no, its not a parking lot from 3-7:30 pm like SoCal.

And you're so right about weekend traffic in SoCal. Its getting as bad as weekday traffic. Maybe worse because its all day long. It really takes the fun out of going anywhere like San Diego or the Central Coast for the weekend.

I can't tell you how many recent SoCal transplants have laughed and said, "Denver doesn't have traffic." Its all what you're used to.

[OutOfSoCal]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Yeah that's how I see it. Denver get traffic, but it doesn't have the constant bumper to bumper SoCal has. I've driven south 25 to west 470 in the evening. Yes, its slow and yes the major exits like Quebec back up. But no, its not a parking lot from 3-7:30 pm like SoCal.

And you're so right about weekend traffic in SoCal. Its getting as bad as weekday traffic. Maybe worse because its all day long. It really takes the fun out of going anywhere like San Diego or the Central Coast for the weekend.

I can't tell you how many recent SoCal transplants have laughed and said, "Denver doesn't have traffic." Its all what you're used to.

Quoted For Truth. we were just in Denver and tried to find the elusive traffic jams of Denver. Never could found a few slight delays but NOTHING like our daily grind in So Cal.