How often do you find yourself stuck in traffic?
Well, sometimes you get delayed because of an accident way up ahead, probably a collision occurred and caused traffic to stop. This situation is quite understandable because accidents do happen but not every day.
How about experiencing traffic congestion daily because the road infrastructure cannot contain the traffic volume anymore.
In many cities in the US, traffic congestion has become a daily nightmare. Studies show that American drivers can spend up to 42 hours a year because of high traffic congested highways in the cities of the US.
The US traffic and information services group are collecting data about which cities in the US are experiencing highly congested traffic.
According to them, traffic congestion may vary during peak hours and during the morning and evening.
Here are the top 5 cities in the US that had recorded lately (as of writing) the most congested traffic:
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is on the top list of the most traffic congested cities. It is second to New York to have the highest population density. For the record, an average driver can waste 28 minutes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Accommodating the number of population in the city requires a better transportation system. Currently, with population outnumbering public transportation many roads are congested.
Honolulu
Honolulu also got the most traffic congestion record in the past few years. As it is considered as one of the densest cities in the US, many commuters are less likely to get to work by car or public transit in the shortest time.
After topping the most congested city record, Honolulu started to implement massive public transit projects and now starting to limit congestions on their main roads.
San Francisco
San Francisco’s high population density contributes to its high traffic congestion.
The city public transit is highly used, yet with the high number of workers during peak hours, those traveling by car and trucks add up to the congestion.
Transportation authorities are trying to find ways to remedy their traffic issues.
Clearly, other than having the best public transportation system, they need to implement some rules during peak hours.
Austin
Adding to the list of the most congested cities is Austin. The city had a rapid population growth for the past two years.
Because the transportation infrastructure can’t keep up with the increase in population, congestion on main roads occur. Their traffic record has worsened over the years.
The city should find ways to make their transportation system handle such rapid growth.
New York
The congestion that New York City is experiencing is due to their highest population density.
Workers living in the city or around the city still need to go for a long travel every day, causing roads and highways fully congested.
Building more alternative routes and expressways might give solutions to the traffic dilemma that many New Yorkers are experiencing.
Conclusion
The main foreseeable solution to traffic congestions in these cities is to design roads and highway infrastructure to accommodate present and future traffic volume.
There’s a need for road infrastructure management experts to study and evaluate how this could be done.
In many cases, new urban centers are created to decongest the traditional downtown.
Traffic congestion will remain a great challenge to infrastructure asset management consultants as the number of car owners and road users increases along with the population.