Your Thoughts on Washington Area Traffic
Question: Is congestion getting worse? Tell us about your commute and how you combat gridlock.
Is traffic getting worse? Yes, it is. However for exceptional traffic try going to South Korea. Seoul has Washington beat hands down. I've lived in the Northern Va. area for almost 25 years. From 1975 to 1978, I lived about 12 miles, or 20 minutes from work (each way). From 1978 to 1984, my commute was four miles, or 10 minutes. Finally in 1984, I wised up and moved to about 1.2 miles. My commute now depends on my mode about 10 minutes by bike, three to five minutes by car, 20 minute slow walk, and I've even come in on cross country skis or roller blades a few times in about 15 minutes (does not happen very often). Overall, I estimate my entire commuting time to be significantly less than 60 hours per year, average, and less than 40 hours per year for the last 15 years. I've turned down promotions for the commute. My wife has a 30 to 45 minute car pool to the Hill area, or a one hour [plus] Metro commute (she took the promotions). Twenty two years ago, I decided that I'd rather be near my children and be able to spend both quality time and quantity time with them. My employer does not pay me to commute from work to home. Many of my co-workers commute two or more hours each day, which is equivalent to working an extra 12 weeks per year, while my commute uses up one week. The solutions to "combating" gridlock are to either totally avoid it, or accept it as part of life (like ads on the web page sidebar) and ignore it. I chose avoidance. Smile, because it's only going to get worse.GN
Hayfield, VA
Lloyd Smith
Gaithersburg
Shelby
Oxon Hill, MD
Linda Lu
Clinton, Maryland
Paul
Warrenton, VA
J.R.
LAUREL, MD
Michael R.
Arlington, VA
JCS
Washington, DC
Carolyn Hatcher
Columbia, MD
Christopher T. DeVaughn Frederick, MD
Yes, I believe traffic in the D.C area is getting worse, However I don't have to worry about it anymore. My commute time from south Bowie to north Bowie is only a mere 5 minutes! Yes, that's right only 5 minutes! You ask how I can was able to obtain such a short commute? Well, there are 2 answers which I believe are quite simple to comprehend; either move closer to your job or find a job that is closer to you. Either solution one would greatly reduce the amount of commuting time spent on those infamous D.C., MD, VA highways. I can't understand why we D.C. area residents rent or purchase a home in one state just to spend several hours commuting to work in a another state.........Duane Banks Bowie, MD
Traffic in this area is horrible. The number one problem that this area suffers from is the fact that everyone wants to see what is going on. The outer loop will back up just so drivers can catch a glimpse of lights and sirens on the inner loop. It doesn't make sense. If drivers would watch their side of the road there would be less congestion and probably a reduction in the occurrance of insidents on the beltway. Pay attention to your side of the road people!!Chris La Plata
In today's employee friendly market you can afford to swap in that dreaded commute for a higher paying job closer to home! Tax breaks should be given to either the employers that recruit within a 5 mile radius and/or employees that live in that 5 mile radius.John Goodyear Alexandria, VA
The great thing about living downtown (I live near Dupont Circle) is that you don't have to deal with traffic AT ALL. I really sympathize with everyone living in the burbs. Traffic is a nightmare on Rockville Pike - even during mid-day. When you live downtown, you can walk to work and walk to the store. Better yet, I live literaly three stop lights from Kennedy Center, National Airport AND Dulles. People would do themselves a huge favor living in the city rather than spending the equivalent of over an entire working week per year in their cars chewing up gas and time and poisoning the air for the rest of us. My only gripe with traffic is that metro area drivers don't seem to know that pedestrians in crosswalks have the right of way.H Stewart WDC
Two and three hour round trip commuting stories are heard often. Heavy daily traffic is a significant reason why I moved nine years ago. It takes my wife eight minutes to get to work, and it's another twelve for me, and I work downtown. Every time I return to the DC area, there's a stress flashback, and I realize how much better my life is elsewhere. There is a lot more to life than commuting.Patrick Tewell Richmond, VA
Our metro system needs to be extended to suburban areas, such as Waldorf, Columbia, Bowie, Gaithersburg, and Great Falls. People who lives in these suburban areas must drive in the city to get to work. What other alternative is there.Nicole Williams Washington, DC
Too many people--too many cars. It is just that simple. It's not going to get any better. One problem is that the rail system does not extend far enough to combat the problem It's a good system, but it also hurts the city. For one every place that has a subway sees the real estate blow out the celling. Therefore, people are pushed farther out to find affordable housing, which creates more traffic. Since they can't take the subway they are forced to drive. Also, parking at subways is not free. So, not only do you have to pay for parking, you have to pay the overprice subway fare. Again, people are forced to drive.Khafre DC
I moved from no. va due to the nightmare that is "the beltway" ... 95 needs to be separated from 495...and an expansion of the metro to centreville is overdue... along with more open shoulder lanes during peak traffic...(especially on 495 " I left DC in March 1999 because of my family. I have resettled in an area in Alabama where my commute is less than 15 minutes each way. Let me tell you that if I could take it all back, I would. The price you pay for great jobs, museums, concerts, shopping, universities and diversity just might be that commute. It's a price I hope to pay again one day.ELizabeth Lewis Montgomery, AL
I have commuted by bus from Stafford County for over 23 plus years. Now the development has hit this area as well as the Fredericksbury area by smug, self-righteous people who have no regard for the environment/wildlife as long as they have thier big house. These people soon will demand that the developers build on graveyards. Let us face it, we are running out of land now, it has been overdeveloped and the Government MUST spend money on mass transit instead of roads. The quality of life in the area I live has gone down considerably and soon I will leave the area. I don't think people ever expected the area to grow so much. So the anwer is, more money for mass transit, if people want to drive by themselves, let them suffer in traffic. Let them pay the high gas prices. Or maybe too, everybody loves their jobs. Look out for more road rage.VR Stafford, VA
Traffic here is bad BUT it is not as bad as Miami. I grew up here and lived in Miami from 96-99 and traffic there was awful. I don't know how they didn't make it above us. I also believe that there is twice as many people living there than here. One of the reasons I moved back here was because of the traffic in Miami. And even though I commute an hour from Glen Burnie to Arlington everyday and I don't like it. I would much rather be here in traffic than in Miami. Traffic was always bad there no matter what time of day it was or if it was the weekend or weekday. At least here you don't have the traffic all the time.Toni Glen Burnie, MD
I carpool with one person. I avoid local morning gridlock by leaving my house at 6:30 a.m. I travel from Potomac, MD to Crystal City, VA via I270, 495, and the GW Parkway and make it to work in 25 minutes. We depart from work at 4:00 pm and arrive in Potomac at 4:40. The afternoon commuteis definitely worse. The only thing that keeps it from being longer is that we can use the carpool lane at the 270/495 split. However, sometimes 495 is jammed at the Cabin John Bridge and we just get off at Carter Rock and take McArthur Blvd. to Falls Road (via Brickyard). Of course with bad weather all bets are off!Jeff Tumarkin Potomac, MD
Yes.Congestion is worse. I myself have done my part to avoid at all cost the drive into D.C. I take a charter bus from Charlotte Hall, MD into D.C. and sometimes even that is a chore to get anywhere on time. The bus drivers are very diligent about the schedules but, the traffic is bad. Extending the rails in the area (all of them) would be a big help. Where I travel from we have no public transportation.Julie Heil Chaptico, MD
I think the metro riders must be on drugs! Get real, taking the metro is no picnic! Try getting on the red line from DC to Shady Grove in the afternoons. The cars are jam packed with people and uncomfortable, not to mention a breeding ground for germs. It takes forever to get out of the station as hundreds of people crowd onto one set of stairs and one escalator. Need I say anything about the lack of parking facilities at these stations and the reliability of the trains. Yeah, metro is really great!Jeff Germantown
- of course it's getting worse for goodness sakes - and it's obvious what has to be done 1. start restricting use of cars,etc in the inner city and other business districts(i.e. tyson's) 2. start building serious bicycle lanes (bigger,wider) with serious safety features 3. start tearing down highways and installing tree-lined parks to increase the vegetation in our community how's thatjohn rende college park
I live in Sterling and commute to Chantilly, taking Route 28. On average, it takes about a half-hour to drive about fifteen miles in the morning, and the traffic is only getting worse. Developers and other pro-growth-at-any-cost interests have been allowed to buy the support of Loudoun and Fairfax County supervisors for so long that travel--even no more than a mile or two from home--has become intolerable at any hour of any day. The road is not only packed with cars, but also construction vehicles. Scott York's victory over Dale Myers for Board Chairman of Loudoun has given me some hope that further irresponsible growth will be stifled, and I would urge Mr. York to remember that the same grass-roots effort that enabled him to win his office has the power to take it away again if he fails to live up to his promises. The ultimate empowerment for control, however, must come from Richmond, which must allow county officials to deny landowners the right to build unimpeded. New development needs to be rejected, previous approvals need to be rescinded, and any judge assigned to decide the issue needs to spend a week in eastern Loudoun County traffic. Traditional landowners' rights must be made to yield to the greater need of citizens who wish to preserve any vestige of sanity in Loudoun County. And the recent phenomenon known as "road rage"? Any competent psychologist will probably tell you that it's a direct result of artificially forced growth in areas where the suburban and rural mindsets of residents don't allow for such rapid loss of freedom of movement. Pro-growth interests will say that slowing or eliminating further development will result in a "stagnant" economy. That's just a bad description. Rather, it will result in a stable economy. Economies that need growth but have none may be described as "stagnant", but Loudoun County is definitely not in need of growth. Without the benefit of being an economist or a politician, it seems to me that the taxes generated by existing residents and businesses should be enough to maintain what already exists. Additional tax revenue is unnecessary if there is no additional development. Let the only development be that of a Metro line to the Sterling/Dulles area.Carl P. Ackerman, Jr. Sterling
Re DC traffic Jams: The I-495 Beltway in Kensington is a text-book example of private property rights overriding the public good. Although the Mormon Temple rising from the end of a 12-lane, 2 mile straight-away looks majestic, the hairpin turns there that are a consequence have created traffic congestion and chaos since it (the beltway) was opened. In other areas, roadway planners aparantly were on sabatical or vacation, as 4 lanes merging into two, poor signs, confusing exits, etc. are the norm. And that's the "modern, high-speed expressway"! Downtown streets and avenues are even worse.Lawrence BrohKahn (formerly) College Park, MD
I drive to and from Springfield from Woodbridge four times a week, and this takes me much longer than it should. I have an idea, make the HOV lanes toll HOV lanes, the more people you have in the car the less you pay, that way if something happens and you have to avoid the mess, you pay for the road, rather than have it empty while you sit in the mess. This also creates jobs, someone has to man the toll booths.Eric Recknor Woodbridge, Va
Yes, it's getting worse. What to do? For starters, build more roads. Everyone complains that these roads will fill up. So build more than we need. Build enough capacity so it's projected to last 50 years. Maybe it will last 30. We'll live. Also, expand Metrorail. Current coverage is pitiful. The system routing is out of date - based on a 1960s assumption that all commuting was from suburbs into downtown. I'm sure at least 50% of the jobs in this area can't be reached by Metrorail and it's going up. Finally, I admit not everyone can afford to move nearer work. But I don't know why people live in one OUTER suburb and commute to another one. It's amazing to sit here reading all these messages from people who commute from Laurel to Fairfax, Fort Washington to Tysons, Woodbridge to Rockville, etc. Get over it. If you're going to live in the outer suburbs anyway, they are all pretty similar, so instead of driving 50 miles each way, find a suburb which has comparably priced housing and is near your office. Laurel person could move to Centreville, Fort Washington resident to Herndon, Woodbridge to Germantown. There -- cut commutes in half!Tony Herndon
My commute averages about 35 minutes each way by car. When I arrived in the area a few months ago, I experimented with commuting options: I found that taking the metro,via Park and Ride, DOUBLED my commuting time and added about $50 per month to my cost of commuting even after my employer kicked in $65/month "transit benefits." (God only knows how much my commute would increase if I included a hike to the nearest Metro bus stop and the trip by bus to the Metro station.) I am idealistic and would like to make use of mass transit, but common sense and my sanity come first. Unfortunately, there probably isn't a good fix for our traffic problems. Developers, responding to opportunity and demand, will continue to build new houses, condos, apartments, etc wherever possible unhindered by common sense considerations such as "How are these people going to get to work?"Mark Silver Spring
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