Average L.A. Driver Stuck in Traffic 63 Hours a Year
The annual Urban Mobility Report results are in and...whoa: on average, a driver in Los Angeles spends sixty-three hours wasting away in traffic delays. Just. Ouch.
The news isn't all bad though: other cities have it worse and L.A. once topped the charts in traffic-delay rankings (we steering-wheel-tapped our way through 84 wasted hours on freeways in 2006.)
According to the LA Times, Chicago drivers spend 70 hours a year patiently (or not) waiting through traffic delays. Los Angeles also ranked #4 in the nation for transit improvements and #1 for operational improvements such as adding carpool lanes and freeway ramp meters.
Is this a sign that our roads and traffic and public transportation problems are on their way out? Hardly. Though Los Angeles has made strides in keeping traffic congestion at bay, researchers acknowledge that our roads are less crowded because less people have jobs.
Tim Lomax, coauthor of the mobility report, says "Part of what we are seeing across the board is that the economy and unemployment have had a clear positive effect on traffic congestion." Um, ok. Less positive for those without jobs.
As the economy bounces back, traffic is projected to increase in Los Angeles. What will you do with all that "free" freeway time in the meantime? Take the Metro?