Philly Area Rush Hour Traffic Guide (Reading, King of Prussia: how much, live in, price)

[vizanje]

Originally Posted by newmarlig

Or live in center city like I do and walk to work.

Would love to do that.. but having kids makes it near impossible.. unless we cough up all our hard earned money for private schools.. and that ain't gonna happen...but I love city living and walking to work/eat/hang out. I'm from NYC so that was how I thought all cities worked.. boy was I wrong.

[nikmasteed]

After growing up in Philly area (Harleysville) and subsequently moving to Boston for 6 years for college, I was extremely impressed by Boston's subway and regional rail systems, which are both much more extensive than SEPTA. Not sure why this is, perhaps simply because that infrastructure has been in place much longer than in Philly. Regional rail always has the problem that once you expand that system, people further and further out can commute to the city, thus expanding the metro area and placing more demand on the infrastructure. I think a much better solution for Philly would be improving the subway system to the close-in suburbs, possibly with light-rail (since true subway is costly)

[FindingZen]

I'll admit that Boston's commuter rail is more affordable than SEPTA's Regional Rail (or at least it was when I was up there ten years ago or so).

But IMO I think that close-in suburbs are served pretty well already, even with light rail (especially the 101 and 102 trolleys in Delaware County). That said, there could be smoother access to the office parks in Plymouth Meeting, Blue Bell and the Bensalem/Franklin Mills areas.

Originally Posted by nikmasteed

After growing up in Philly area (Harleysville) and subsequently moving to Boston for 6 years for college, I was extremely impressed by Boston's subway and regional rail systems, which are both much more extensive than SEPTA. Not sure why this is, perhaps simply because that infrastructure has been in place much longer than in Philly. Regional rail always has the problem that once you expand that system, people further and further out can commute to the city, thus expanding the metro area and placing more demand on the infrastructure. I think a much better solution for Philly would be improving the subway system to the close-in suburbs, possibly with light-rail (since true subway is costly)

[bryson662001]

No one has mentioned those "roving Pendot crews" On any sunny day any freeway in any direction can suddenly come to a stop as a road crew picking up trash or cleaning gutters forces all traffic down to one lane. This infuriating situation is a very common occurance and inspite of it the roads all look like crap anyway. These are the same folks who designed all those disfunctional highways with their built in bottlenecks in the first place. I hate Penndot!

[NJ987654]

don't forget two other factors.... any Jersey road is nasty on friday's and sundays during the summer (beach traffic). also, the school bus factor plays a part in traffic during AM commutes. sometimes leaving 5 minutes earlier or later to avoid being on the same road as the local schools buses makes a difference

[vizanje]

Just an update....we are on the Mainline...in Wynnewood. My wife drives in on the Schuykill every morning between 6-6:30am..she works down at the Naval Shipyard, so the train might be an option, but right now her schedule is crazy. Well, early commute, she has no traffic... Coming home she says that if she stays late.. the traffic isn't bad at all ( after 6ish pm). There are always one offs, but in general it seems most people work the 9-5 and this is obviously the worst time to get in and out of the city. If you have flex scheduling you can avoid some of the traffic hassle.

[fauxdeux]

Rush hour starts at 3:30 dude.

Originally Posted by RaleighBoundGeek

So - the "cliff notes" version is - don't go anywhere between 7 and 9am, and between 4:30 and 6pm?

[new to PA]

How would the reverse commute from downtown Philadelphia to Doylestown be? MapQuest suggests 95 N to W Street Rd. Direct route would be 611. Are we talking a hour each way every day? Ugh...

[akorosdc]

Originally Posted by new to PA

How would the reverse commute from downtown Philadelphia to Doylestown be? MapQuest suggests 95 N to W Street Rd. Direct route would be 611. Are we talking a hour each way every day? Ugh...

Pretty much, yes, an hour each way. I don't know about downtown, but from North Philly on up, 611 going north is pretty empty. Depends on your actual location, but another option would be to take the Expressway up to Broad Street, instead of just Broad all the way up. Also, my aunt who lives in Warrington/Doylestown and works at the VA Hospital used to take 309 all the way down to Stenton Avenue, then cut over to Broad instead of 611 all the way down. From there you're not far from the Expressway, or just keep going down Broad until you're home. Reverse for the morning. Traffic volume should be about the same, but there's fewer lights.

[kelb]

Originally Posted by new to PA

How would the reverse commute from downtown Philadelphia to Doylestown be? MapQuest suggests 95 N to W Street Rd. Direct route would be 611. Are we talking a hour each way every day? Ugh...

The 95 to Street Rd directions are bogus, because 95 drops you way east of Rt 611.
Rt 611 has gotten increasingly busy at all times of day, and it is a very slow go in general because of all the lights...but if you are traveling to Doylestown from the south, you are going to become very familiar with 611.