Survey: Philly Traffic Not As Bad As Other Cities
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There are probably few drivers in these parts who would say we don't have major traffic problems, but a study finds they are comparatively light-weight.
GPS maker 'TomTom' compared travel times when there's zero congestion, like midnight, with an average of the rest of the day.
Rush hours are, of course, much worse. No surprise, but Los Angeles was the worst at 35-percent average extra travel time. Philadelphia was 18th at 22-percent.
"(Of) course, the Schuylkill Expressway is infamous, but there's congestion all over the place," Nick Cohn of 'TomTom' says. "I-95, you mentioned, but also City Line, Ridge Avenue in Roxborough and Wissahickon. The fact that it's not in the top ten doesn't mean that Philadelphia drivers don't often experience extreme travel time delays."
Cohn says the numbers continue to get worse for the top ten:
"Eight of them have seen an increase in congestion levels compared to last year. Think about the economy was bad, there were probably fewer people going to work over the last couple of years, because of the terrible recession. Some of that seems to be coming back in some of these cities and clearly that has an influence."
Cohn adds the secret to faster travel is having real-time information that allows you to use an alternate, less gridlocked route.
