If you have driven through any of the major East Coast cities, as I have of late, it will come as no surprise to you that the traffic in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC is just short of nightmarish. And studies bear that out as those three and cities on the West Coast such as Los Angeles – which is typically the worst in the country – try one’s patience to say the least. In a U.S. News & World Report story out today, by 2030 traffic in some cities will be worse than it is right now in Los Angeles. The worst commutes of the future:
* Atlanta * Baltimore * Chicago * Denver-Aurora * Las Vegas * Los Angeles-Long Beach * Miami * Minneapolis-St. Paul * Portland * San Francisco-Oakland * Seattle-Tacoma, Wash. * Washington The article ponders: how bad can traffic in American cities get? Los Angels’ long-range transportation plan is a grim look at the future. By 2025, Los Angeles County is projected to have 3 million more people, which could prompt a 30% increase in car trips. At that rate, the report suggests, “congestion will last nearly all day long.” New York and New Jersey currently have the highest percentage of “extreme commuters,” who travel 90 minutes or more to work every day, says the U.S Census Bureau. More than 3 million people-about 3% of workers-now have such commutes, a 95% increase from 1990, the Bureau says. Can you say telecommuting?
