Traffic on I-45 Freeway (Houston, Dallas: home, living, buses)

[piyf]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

Thanks for explaining. It wuld be a good idea if Houston adds a rail system along its freeways and major corridors. I don't know if they are already doing this, but if not, it would be nice.

Get rid of the HOV lane and put a rail in it's place. The HOV lane is stupid and only serves a small minority. It could serve a lot more if it were a rail. Plenty of park and rides being used by buses that aren't cheap and need an operator.

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by danieloneil01

Get rid of the HOV lane and put a rail in it's place. The HOV lane is stupid and only serves a small minority. It could serve a lot more if it were a rail. Plenty of park and rides being used by buses that aren't cheap and need an operator.

I remeber those lanes when I used to live in Atlanta. They would always be the "empty" lanes.

[annie_himself]

Only if there was a large park and ride type station where it meets roughly the Greenspoint/B8 area that flows into downtown. Would have to feed into the METRO Fannin line.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Maddie800

Thanks all - we are coming from Chicago and the traffic here is horrendous on the tollways - so it sounds much of the same!

Don't think it's as bad as Chicago, from the road trip I made out there. Chicago also sprawls wayyy to the west since it can't go east. Even 30-40 miles from downtown it's pretty expensive. On the other hand Houston area drivers are very slow and lazy compared to Chicago. Leave your horn honking & attitude in Chicago, too.

There is a "busiest roads in Texas" list that measures congestion and volume. I can't find it now but I do remember while I-45 around Clear Lake made the list, surface streets such as Westheimer have more congestion and volume than this freeway. The Gulf Fwy measured about average for a freeway in the Houston area on this list.

On weekends there is always a good amount of traffic going to Galveston and Kemah. Webster/Baybrook mall is the only 'good' big-box shopping area for 40 miles, too (between Gulfgate and Galveston). During the whole month of December, traffic is hell (Christmas insanity). However the surface streets work very well. After some time you'll figure out how to navigate them and avoid all that.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

Thanks for explaining. It wuld be a good idea if Houston adds a rail system along its freeways and major corridors. I don't know if they are already doing this, but if not, it would be nice.

I don't any of us will see this in our lifetimes.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by tstone

Don't think it's as bad as Chicago, from the road trip I made out there. Chicago also sprawls wayyy to the west since it can't go east. Even 30-40 miles from downtown it's pretty expensive. On the other hand Houston area drivers are very slow and lazy compared to Chicago. Leave your horn honking & attitude in Chicago, too.

There is a "busiest roads in Texas" list that measures congestion and volume. I can't find it now but I do remember while I-45 around Clear Lake made the list, surface streets such as Westheimer have more congestion and volume than this freeway. The Gulf Fwy measured about average for a freeway in the Houston area on this list.

On weekends there is always a good amount of traffic going to Galveston and Kemah. Webster/Baybrook mall is the only 'good' big-box shopping area for 40 miles, too (between Gulfgate and Galveston). During the whole month of December, traffic is hell (Christmas insanity). However the surface streets work very well. After some time you'll figure out how to navigate them and avoid all that.

Are you serious?

[An0nym0us88]

Originally Posted by tstone

Don't think it's as bad as Chicago, from the road trip I made out there. Chicago also sprawls wayyy to the west since it can't go east. Even 30-40 miles from downtown it's pretty expensive. On the other hand Houston area drivers are very slow and lazy compared to Chicago. Leave your horn honking & attitude in Chicago, too.

Haha. What the heck?

Major stereotyping.

[tstone]

That's what I experienced. All those travel guides that say it's best to leave your car & ride the 'L' / public transportation are really saying you're going to deal with seriously aggressive and systematically rude drivers. I have some family up there in the burbs who won't get anywhere near Chicago due to the driving situation, but honestly after a bunch of coffee & espresso it's not scary or anything. Generally speaking, the pace of life in Texas is much slower vs. up there.

[Maddie800]

Originally Posted by tstone

That's what I experienced. All those travel guides that say it's best to leave your car & ride the 'L' / public transportation are really saying you're going to deal with seriously aggressive and systematically rude drivers. I have some family up there in the burbs who won't get anywhere near Chicago due to the driving situation, but honestly after a bunch of coffee & espresso it's not scary or anything. Generally speaking, the pace of life in Texas is much slower vs. up there.

That is funny because last time we were in Houston and drove on I-45 people were zooming past us weaving in and out of cars (not lazy or slow! ) - and we were going above the speed limit. I don't find Chicago drivers to be rude - downtown is a different story (in the loop area), lots of cabs and buses people tend to get crazy. We will be there next week, so I'm going to check it out. Thanks all!

[An0nym0us88]

Originally Posted by tstone

That's what I experienced. All those travel guides that say it's best to leave your car & ride the 'L' / public transportation are really saying you're going to deal with seriously aggressive and systematically rude drivers. I have some family up there in the burbs who won't get anywhere near Chicago due to the driving situation, but honestly after a bunch of coffee & espresso it's not scary or anything. Generally speaking, the pace of life in Texas is much slower vs. up there.

I could see that being outside of Dallas, Austin, or Houston.

Houston is seriously not slow or lazy. I always drive over the speed limit and I'm constantly moving over to a slower lane on the freeway for people behind to pass me.