Study: Miami Ranks 12th For Traffic Congestion
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Driving in South Florida is enough to make the most patient person lose their cool. But, it turns out South Florida isn't in the top ten of most congested cities in the U.S., but just barely.
According to INRIX, a company that focuses on traffic information and apps, listed Miami as the 12th most congested city in the country. INRIX analyzed data from 100 million GPS-equipped commercial and passenger vehicles to put together the findings.
INRIX found that drivers in the 10 worst cities for traffic wasted 40 hours a year waiting for things to get moving. The worst cities were: Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The study found that in Miami, Thursday at around 4 p.m. is the worst time to drive in South Florida. Drivers waste an extra 10.5 minutes sitting in heavy traffic during that time. Things don't clear up during rush hour until roughly 7 p.m.
Inrix found that traffic is typically the worst in Miami in February and August. For example, in February 2010, drivers wasted 3.8 hours in traffic. In February 2011, the number fell slightly to 2.8 hours, and in 2012, the number fell to 2.3 hours.
So far in 2012, Inrix has found that traffic congestion in Miami has actually been declining since peaking February. In April, drivers spent an estimated 2 hours in traffic.
All total, drivers in Miami waste 27.7 hours sitting in traffic each year.
So where does traffic get tied up the worst in Miami? According to Inrix, the 5.5 mile stretch of the Dolphin Expressway from I-95 to Red Rd is the worst road for traffic in Miami.
Inrix listed the area as 13th worst in the country last year, with an average travel time of 17 minutes with an average speed of 20 miles per hour. And it's not getting any better, as traffic on the stretch of the Dolphin got 28 percent worse in 2011 than in 2010.
