Bay Area Traffic In Top 20 For Traffic Congestion

[FloridaFuture]

Bay Area Traffic In Top 20 For Traffic Congestion
By Rich Shopes of The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2007

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area ranked 20th among 85 large U.S. cities for worst traffic congestion, according to a study released today.

The ranking is based on the most recent information available, from 2005, and represents an improvement over 2004 and 2003, when the area ranked 14th and 11th, respectively.

One of the study's authors cautioned against reading too much into the numbers.

"Drivers there still spend a lot of time in traffic," said David Schrank, an associate research scientist with the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University and a co-author of the urban mobility report, "Commuting in America."

Drivers in the Bay area spent 46 hours on average sitting in traffic in 2004, the same amount as in 2003. The picture improved to 45 hours in 2005.

Traffic delays are costly, too: $809 on average for 2005 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, $20 more than 2004 and $60 more that 2003.

Rising gas prices, especially after the 2005 hurricane season, were to blame. On average, it increased here from $1.53 per gallon in 2003 to $2.34 per gallon in 2005.

The Los Angeles metro area had the worst congestion, delaying drivers an average of 72 hours a year, the new study says. Next came Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington and Dallas.

The least congested metro areas were Spokane, Wash., and Brownsville, Texas, where drivers were delayed an average of eight hours a year.

Nationwide, drivers waste about 38 hours per year in traffic, the new study says.

The study summed it up this way: "Too many people, too many trips over too short of a time period on a system that is too small."

The study estimates that drivers wasted 2.9 billion gallons of fuel while sitting in traffic. Together with the lost time, traffic delays cost the nation $78.2 billion, the study estimates.

High gasoline prices appear to have cut into optional driving but not commuting to work, Schrank said.

"We're really not seeing drops in the peak travel times," he said. About three-quarters of all commuters drive alone to work, according to census data.

The study offers a menu of options for addressing congestion, including adding roads or lanes where needed, improving public transportation and changing driving patterns through flexible work schedules, telecommuting and car pooling.

To learn more, go to The Texas Transportation Institute.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep...?news-breaking