Buffalo's traffic congestion is light, study shows
Just 11 hours per year, vs. 70 in Los Angeles
Drivers in the Buffalo area spend an average of 11 hours a year stuck in traffic, far less than commuters in most cities across the nation, according to a study released Wednesday that records the nation’s worst traffic congestion.
On a list of 90 major cities across the country, Buffalo ranks near the low end at No. 79.
Congestion in virtually all the cities could have been worse, researchers said, if not for the recession and high gas prices. The report shows a slight reduction in time spent gridlocked, with the national average one hour less than in 2005. The reduction is a temporary lull, not a trend, the report states.
The Texas Transportation Institute’s Urban Mobility Report, which tracks traffic patterns in 90 cities and metropolitan areas with its two-year study, found that a typical Buffalo driver wastes seven gallons of fuel every year in traffic.
Buffalo drivers have spent more than triple the amount of time waiting in traffic that they did 25 years ago. In 1982, they spent three hours annually in traffic.
“No one should expect to drive the speed limit on their way to work,” said David Schrank, a research engineer and one of two people who conducted the study. “It is just becoming engrained in people that there is going to be congestion out there, and that’s how it is. It has become such a way of life that we don’t even notice it.”
Still, the report suggests Buffalo is one of the most fuel-efficient cities.
Los Angeles took the unenviable top spot on the list with a yearly average of 70 hours spent in traffic in 2007. New York- Newark was 14th on the list, tied with Las Vegas and Baltimore.
Qian Wang, an assistant professor of engineering at the University at Buffalo, said residents have no need to worry. “The traffic conditions here really aren’t that bad,” she said.
“It’s still an issue that needs to be addressed, though. If people just start carpooling and driving even 30 minutes before or after they normally leave, there will be less roadway congestion and less delays.”
Nationally, the total amount of wasted fuel topped 2.8 billion gallons, estimated at three weeks’ worth of gas for every traveler. The amount of wasted time totaled 4.2 billion hours — nearly one full work week (or vacation week) for every traveler.
Governments are not keeping up with road construction while more motorists stream into urban areas and suburbs, the report said. The solution is to improve mass transit and encourage employers to vary work schedules so commuters hit the road at different times or spend some of their work days telecommuting, said Tim Lomax, a research engineer who also worked on the study.
“The best solutions are going to be those in which actions by transportation agencies are complemented by businesses, manufacturers and commuters,” he said. “There’s a mind-set that says that this is a city government’s job or a state department of transportation’s job, but the problem is far too big for transportation agencies alone to address it adequately.”
Although the traffic problem seems to be leveling off, nobody should anticipate the lower volume of traffic congestion will become a trend, he said.
“The Northeastern states and Texas in the mid-1980s and California in the ’90s are three regions that give us an idea of what to expect,” Lomax said. “In each of those cases, when the economy rebounded, so did the traffic problem.”
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