Cities /w Worst Traffic Flow

[GA native_CFT]

Thanks. By the way, how do I start my own post?

[ironchapman]

Thanks. By the way, how do I start my own post?

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You go to the top the board you wish to post in and click the "New Topic" Button.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

Atlanta has grown in a very suburban fashion, i.e. most growth has been outward and is in the form of single family homes.  The more spread out the city is, the more people have to drive everywhere, and the farther they have to drive, thus adding to traffic congestion.  If Atlanta were denser then more people could walk or use transit (that cannot exist efficiently without high densities) instead of driving.  The same would be true about any city that has sprawled in the same nature, not just Atlanta.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sprawl is the evil step-sister of the 8-lane freeway to nowhere. Hampton Roads, DC, Atlanta, and Detroit are notable for their suburban excess... and it's really choking these cities. I live in a suburban area in York County (near Newport News, VA) and it is literally impossible for me to walk anywhere. It would take over 45 minutes of walking to get to the nearest anything (store or fast food place). That's just not possible, so everyone drives everywhere around here. I would think that ATL and Detroit and DC also have similar problems...

[TennBear]

Sprawl is the evil step-sister of the 8-lane freeway to nowhere.  Hampton Roads, DC, Atlanta, and Detroit are notable for their suburban excess... and it's really choking these cities.  I live in a suburban area in York County (near Newport News, VA) and it is literally impossible for me to walk anywhere.  It would take over 45 minutes of walking to get to the nearest anything (store or fast food place).  That's just not possible, so everyone drives everywhere around here.  I would think that ATL and Detroit and DC also have similar problems...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While I would agree that DC has it's share of sprawl, more so on the Virginia side. I live in a city where I can ride a bike to the Mall or most anywhere around town. I have riden to the Mall on several occasions. The Mall takes an hour and a half to two hours via bike for me, but we have village centers that are much closer. I can ride a bike or walk throughout most of the city safely via hike and bike trails. I am fifteen to twenty minutes from the grocery store via bike trail and enjoy the fact that a city is almost without traffic jams. I live in Columbia, MD. It is between DC and Baltimore. Suburbs can be designed with pedestrian traffic taken into account. It could be better here. The bike trails are designed primarily for recreation and not commuting. If they were more direct it would be better, but I feel lucky that I live in a city that is beautiful, has limited commercial oversaturation, and is on a human scale.

[TennBear]

Atlanta has horrible traffic. It rivals the traffic of LA and might actually have the worst traffic flow in the whole country. Also, ive been reading several of the discussions about growth in Southeastern cities, and they all sey that they dont want to end up like Atlanta. Why? What's so bad about Atlanta? Could somebody please tell me!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Atlanta's traffic is bad because the streets were laid out by cattle and make no sense at all far as direction. The topography and growth patterns have created very few arteries to navigate the city. There is only one major North/South Expressway that has just had more and more lanes added to it and there has been no planning within the Metro Area to develop centers of trade. Look at a view of Atlanta from either the East or West and see that the skyline just sort of keeps going with no feeling that there is a core. Yes, I know that there is a core center downtown, but there seems to be a line that just keeps going to the north following Peachtree. Just an attempt.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

While I would agree that DC has it's share of sprawl, more so on the Virginia side. I live in a city where I can ride a bike to the Mall or most anywhere around town. I have riden to the Mall on several occasions. The Mall takes an hour and a half to two hours via bike for me, but we have village centers that are much closer. I can ride a bike or walk throughout most of the city safely via hike and bike trails. I am fifteen to twenty minutes from the grocery store via bike trail and enjoy the fact that a city is almost without traffic jams. I live in Columbia, MD. It is between DC and Baltimore. Suburbs can be designed with pedestrian traffic taken into account. It could be better here. The bike trails are designed primarily for recreation and not commuting. If they were more direct it would be better, but I feel lucky that I live in a city that is beautiful, has limited commercial oversaturation, and is on a human scale.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Virginia side is horrendous... but once you cross the Potomac it's like a different continent... The traffic still sucks, but in terms of the sprawl and inconcievable tie-ups like the Springfield mixing bowl, they're lesser somewhat.