Dallas No Longer in Top 10 for Traffic Congestion

Dallas No Longer in Top 10 for Traffic Congestion

The nation's worst rush-hour traffic can be found, not surprisingly, in Los Angeles. But the No. 2 city is a surprise.   Each year, three organizations produce traffic congestion reports.   The reports estimate the “excess travel time” lost in traffic congestion during morning and evening weekday rush hours.     This excess time is relative to the travel time that would be expected if traffic were free-flowing and there was no congestion.   The Los Angeles metropolitan area notches the worst traffic congestion in all three reports — 44.4 percent excess travel time. The second worst congestion is in Austin, Texas, with 34.5 percent excess travel time.   San Francisco (34.4 percent) is No. 3 and New York (33.4 percent) is No. 4. Both cities have a high population density.   Seattle is No. 5 at 32.4 percent, due in part to the cancellation of some planned freeways.   Rounding out the worst 10 are San Jose, Calif. (32.2 percent); Washington, D.C. (31.3); Boston (29.7); Houston (28.3); and Portland, Ore. (28.2).

-          Newsmax, July 6, 2014