DC Tied For Worst Traffic In The Country

For years, Los Angeles has been regarded as America's most-congested city.  That unwelcome honor, however, has been passed along this year.

According to a survey by the Texas Transportation Institute, Washington DC and Chicago are tied for the most congestion, with 70 hours a year per person spent in traffic.  That comes out to about 3 days, while Los Angeles stands in third place with 63 hours wasted.

Nationally, traffic congestion costs the country billions of dollars each year.  2009's bill, 115 billion is a marked increase 1982's 24 billion.  Average congestion time nationwide has also shown a long-term upward trend; commuters spent a mere 14 hours in traffic in 1984, less than half of the 32 hours of today.

DC's diminutive size sets it apart from the sprawling metropolises of Chicago and Los Angeles, a problem exacerbated by the daytime doubling of the city's population by commuters.  Space for that many cars simply does not exist. Current strategies to prevent congestion, such as staggering work hours and fixing trafic light timing are band-aids to the bigger problem: DC continues to grow in population, but not in space.

Perhaps predictably, the Washington Post and AAA both report that road rage in the area has risen in area among commuting drivers.

Finally in campus transportation news, WMATA anticipates serious repairs to the entrance of the Foggy Bottom Metro station.  A Wednesday press release indicated that the transit agency will replace all existing escalators, the awning over the entrance, and install a stairwell.  Work could take over a year.