Traffic Sucks

Nobody likes getting stuck in traffic. When I lived in New York, I commuted by car to my job. When I lived in Poughkeepsie and commuted to Westchester County, I drove about 60 miles one way. I could make the trip in about 55 minutes. Yes, that means I might have been exceeding the posted speed limits, but the flow of traffic was such that you could make good time. Granted, in bad weather, or if there was an accident, it would take longer. When I moved to Long Island and was still going to Westchester, it was 48 miles and it took about an hour. More cars, more traffic. However, in both cases, the infrastructure was such that if one road had a problem, there was another that could handle overflow and you could continue on your way.

When I moved to DC, I commuted by Metro from my home in the MD suburbs to downtown DC via the Metro. I was reminded how nice it was to let someone else be in charge of getting me to work, allowing me to read the paper, nap, or just relax on the train. It was very nice. When I got my new job at the National Archives, it was back into the car to be a road warrior again. I was quickly reminded how much I don't understand about DC area roads.

Let's start with the Beltway. It's a circle. There's your first problem. Having a parallel road next to it is an immediate issue. For example, in New York, if you are on the Long Island Expressway and it is slow, you can get off and ride the service road (and play my favorite game - Pace the Truck, but that's another story) or you could hop over to the Northern State Parkway or any one of several other east-west routes. When something goes wrong on the Beltway, you are pretty much hosed. Sure, there are roads that criss cross, but you have to get on them and usually navigate lights and other people who have bailed out, not to mention the people who actually live off these surface roads and don't appreciate the commuter gumming up their path to the local Giant.

Now let's talk about what I will call the ripple effect. On several occasions I have been on my way home, going west on the Outer Loop of the Beltway and I will begin to slow near Georgia Avenue (near the Mormon Temple, you've seen it, it looks like the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz). The traffic reports (see the next paragraph) tell you there is a problem on I-270 at Shady Grove Road (some 10-15 miles away). However, the traffic has backed up on 270 and is now affecting people trying to get on 270 from the Beltway! Inconceivable!

Traffic reports. I have become a devoted listener of WTOP radio, which has traffic reports "on the 8s." The traffic reports tend to report serious problems first (as they should) and then comment on the major roads around the region. Typically, they will omit a mention of "normal" volume, for example the Outer Loop between New Hampshire Avenue and Connecticut Avenue during the morning rush and the Inner Loop across the same stretch in the evening. I often find myself in a delay that is not explained by the report or cruising at highway speed in an area that has been reported as slow. Inconceivable!

Weather. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. Plan for extra travel time. OK, I expect that. But I don't accept having to plan to double my travel time because it's raining. A few weeks ago, I had a few longer commutes because people were adjusting to daylight savings and were getting used to driving in the dark again. Inconceivable! ("You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.")

I reported here earlier about the US reaching the population milestone of 300 million people and a related report about road gridlock coming up in less than 20 years. Check back soon for my pipe dream plans for helping the DC area get out of traffic and back up to highway speed.