Traffic patterns during rush hours slowly returning to near pre-pandemic levels
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- So many things in our lives were and are changed by the pandemic we weathered, with one of the most significant things being how we do our jobs and when we do our jobs.
The result of all of this has changed rush hours and KDKA's John Shumway takes a look at how that has impacted all of us.
There is no question that rush hours have been impacted, with the root cause bringing flex schedules that allow you to decide what days you're going to head into the office.
Our less than social gatherings on the ribbons of asphalt that make up our parkways and roads have rebounded from the deserted days of the pandemic, but it still isn't entirely back to the traffic volume of 2019.
Stephanie Zolnak, Traffic Engineer for PennDOT's District 11 says that depending on the day, traffic volume is between 89% to 91% of what it was in 2019.
Zolnak says that based on automatic traffic counters, a couple of days have emerged as less traffic-stressful than others.
"Mondays and Fridays are still lower than what we would or what we are seeing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday," Zolnak said.
It's not that Monday and Friday are deserted, it's just that they're slightly less than the other weekdays.
When PennDOT looks at only the morning rush hour numbers, Monday and Friday compared to pre-pandemic levels are around 14% less busy, while Tuesday through Thursday is around 10% lower.
While the almost-back to pre-pandemic numbers are not reassuring to Monday through Friday commuters, Zolnak says that does allow for some alteration in plans if you see the ability to do trips on those days that you may not have traditionally done.
While the traffic numbers are not back to pre-pandemic levels, we may never see those numbers again as long as flexible scheduling is around.