Atlanta has once again been reminded that finishing a book on CD in one-way traffic is not normal.
The city ranked No. 9 on INRIX's list of the top 10 U.S. cities with the worst traffic based on the average time wasted per commuter. According to the transportation analytics company, metro Atlantans spend 59 hours per commuter per year in traffic congestion.
Los Angeles topped the list with its commuters each spending 81 hours per year on the road. All 10 of America’s worst cities for traffic spent more time in traffic than all of Europe’s highest ranking cities.
According to INRIX, the high instances of commuters trapped in traffic is largely connected to positive economic changes in U.S. cities – higher employment rates, lower gas prices and economic growth.
Though Atlanta drivers have long bemoaned traffic on Interstate 75, Interstate 285 and other thoroughfares, this is the first time the city has appeared on INRIX’s list.
It will likely not be the city’s last time on the list, said Neill Herring, lobbyist for the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Herring has worked on traffic and transit legislation since 1989.
“Every day it gets worse,” Herring said. “The optional routes have been cut off, because we’ve added so many speed bumps and stop signs, which is a good thing. But it makes for more stops in traffic… The transit options are poor. At rush hour, the buses are caught up, so the people waiting at rail stations and bus stations are stuck, too.”
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