Vancouver is # 1 in Canada when it comes to traffic congestion

[The_Henry_Man]

Don't know if anyone has read this, but this just came out of News1130.com. I know the source isn't really the most reliable, but take it for what is. Despite what radically minded urban planners in Metro Vancouver has informed us, we need a more balanced approach in transportation network planning. We need a more comprehensive network of freeways, especially for commercial traffic, but that has to been carefully planned and strategically placed.

We've clogged our way to the top
Vancouver is # 1 in Canada when it comes to traffic congestion
Dan Burritt Jul 10, 2012 17:30:06 PM

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Vancouver is # 1 in Canada...in congestion!

This according to a global survey by TomTom, which manufactures car navigation systems.

We're second only in congestion to Los Angeles, which means we beat out Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, Toronto and Ottawa.

TomTom says we see more congestion on roads than highways-probably because we don't have many highways and the ones we do have, don't run through the city.

The average delay per her hour in Vancouver at its peak is 34 minutes and if your commute is 30 minutes a day, you're delayed 83 hours per year.

During the work week, the best peak times to drive are Friday morning (no surprise) and Monday evening.

The worst? Wednesday morning and Tuesday night.

TomTom says its traffic database has more than six trillion measurements and grows by five billion a day.

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/a...way-to-the-top

[squeezied]

TomTom says we see more congestion on roads than highways-probably because we don't have many highways and the ones we do have, don't run through the city.

Would this automatically discredit the findings?

[whatnext]

Great job on fighting that feeway, hippies!

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by squeezied

Would this automatically discredit the findings?

+1

[go_leafs_go02]

I'm in Portland right now, and somehow, as an extremely liveable city, features a ring road of freeways around the downtown core, in very close proximity.

Traffic isn't terrible here, even at rush hours overall, and has great transit, cycling, and freeways!

Can't say the news comes to me as a surprise.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by squeezied

Would this automatically discredit the findings?

Exactly, sucks that out local neighbourhood streets have to pick up the slack, really pedestrian friendly there!

Again, I hate extremes, and Vancouver is at an extreme when it comes to highways.

American style "pave a highway through anything and anywhere" mentality is one extreme, and Vancouver's "any form of high capacity road anywhere for any reason is bad" mentality is the other extreme.

A healthy city, such as all the cities I have been lived / visited in Europe and Asia have found a nice middle ground here.

Essentially, they have max 6 lane (usually only 4) free flow 60km to 80km hour tolled expressways running through the urban areas, but not plowing through them akin to American freeways, coming within a km or 2 to down town (if not directly into downtown). At the same time, all the local streets are made extremely difficult to drive (lots of traffic calming), therefore making a best of both worlds situation. Transit use is high, commercial / industrial traffic is kept off local streets, when needed one can access free flow routes, trying to cheat a jam on the expressway is pointless because the local streets are so pedestrian / transit orientated that it would not save any time, etc...

[p78hub]

Not surprising at all. You'd have to have some serious blinders on to not notice that the traffic in Vancouver sucks. It doesn't help that it takes 4 years for potholes to be filled and there seems to be an epidemic of pedestrian-controlled intersections on the entire length of Broadway.

[someone123]

It's not just congestion that's the problem, it's the fact that even in the best case you have to deal with 50 km/h speed limits and traffic lights.

I frequently visit Markham, Ontario, which is about 30 kilometres out from downtown Toronto (the whole trip is through built up city and suburbia). Right now Google says the trip by car from Markham to Union Station in Toronto is 28 minutes. In Vancouver, Lougheed to UBC (slightly shorter) is 48 minutes. In the Markham case, even the GO Bus goes down the 404/Don Valley.

I don't know that it's necessary to plough highways through the city at this point but Vancouver is pretty far behind when it comes to transportation infrastructure and that is probably tied to astronomical housing prices in certain neighbourhoods. Good for the people who have lots of money, I guess. Not so good for those who are faced with limited housing and employment options combined with long commutes.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by someone123

It's not just congestion that's the problem, it's the fact that even in the best case you have to deal with 50 km/h speed limits and traffic lights.

I frequently visit Markham, Ontario, which is about 30 kilometres out from downtown Toronto (the whole trip is through built up city and suburbia). Right now Google says the trip by car from Markham to Union Station in Toronto is 28 minutes. In Vancouver, Lougheed to UBC (slightly shorter) is 48 minutes. In the Markham case, even the GO Bus goes down the 404/Don Valley.

I don't know that it's necessary to plough highways through the city at this point but Vancouver is pretty far behind when it comes to transportation infrastructure and that is probably tied to astronomical housing prices in certain neighbourhoods. Good for the people who have lots of money, I guess. Not so good for those who are faced with limited housing and employment options combined with long commutes.

The time to build the freeway was in the late Sixties, before much of the area filled in. Now we have at least two residential streets that were laid waste by the delusional dreamers who somehow thought banning a freeway would mean no more cars.

And to make matters worse, we now have their addled descendants running city hall with the apparent goal of making congestion even worse, operating under the same delusion of the hippies decades before.

[Sir Conga]

Originally Posted by whatnext

The time to build the freeway was in the late Sixties, before much of the area filled in. Now we have at least two residential streets that were laid waste by the delusional dreamers who somehow thought banning a freeway would mean no more cars.

And to make matters worse, we now have their addled descendants running city hall with the apparent goal of making congestion even worse, operating under the same delusion of the hippies decades before.

You know throwing the word *hippies* around kinda makes you hard to take seriously.

[easy as pie]

yeah, it's so weird, like this is by far the most consistently and radically right-wing urbanism forum i've ever come across. 'uh, too much congestion, let's blame the hippies instead of talking congestion pricing and tolls!' something out of a tod browning film. must something to do with vancouver becoming urban only relatively recently, and the growing pains there as the transition occurs.

anyway, if vancouver has congestion issues, a major reason would be simple geography, that the main employment zone is on the tip of a peninsula. i can guarantee that congestion is far far worse in montreal, at any given point, but that the given the relative proximity of the central city to the peripheral areas, the commute for most is shorter than over in vancouver.

and this is quite apart from the fact that vancouver's particular development path has eased the way to the sort of redevelopments that make the city the sort of place that suburbans visit in the first place.

[memememe76]

If Vancouver's traffic is the worst in Canada, then traffic in Canada is really not that bad. I will take traffic in Vancouver over, say, traffic in Seattle anyday. Ever drive along I-5 around the Tacoma area on a friggin' Sunday afternoon? SUCKS.

Of course, I live and work in Surrey (8 minute commute), Skytrain it to Vancouver. Easy for me to say. But please tell me why anyone who actually lives in Vancouver drives Downtown. Why?

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by memememe76

If Vancouver's traffic is the worst in Canada, then traffic in Canada is really not that bad. I will take traffic in Vancouver over, say, traffic in Seattle anyday. Ever drive along I-5 around the Tacoma area on a friggin' Sunday afternoon? SUCKS.

Of course, I live and work in Surrey (8 minute commute), Skytrain it to Vancouver. Easy for me to say. But please tell me why anyone who actually lives in Vancouver drives Downtown. Why?

Take a look at it the other way, as someone who lives near downtown, but often wants to get the heck away from downtown or go around it.

A half hour to get from Strathcona to Boundary/Grandview, on a Saturday? Sure, why not. 45 minutes to get to UBC mid-day?

Transit is only good when your destinations line up, and you don't have things to carry. It's also more expensive than driving if you have a passenger or two.

[vansky]

van has no traffic problem, if u call gettiing on a bridge
during rush hr a problem, then in shanghai, u cannot even get off the bridge (expressway) once u get on it during rush hr

[ACT7]

This report looked at differentials between rush hour and non-rush hour, so take it with a grain of salt, people. All it tells me is that non rush hour traffic in Vancouver is not that bad. And Ottawa?? Please...
There is no way Vancouver is more congested than NYC, Toronto, and Montreal. it's just that those cities are perpetually congested so the differential is less.

[trofirhen]

"... duhh; don't build any freeways, and there won't be any extra traffic."

"Freeways, are bad and eveil and ugly and mean and destroy whatever neighbourhood they are in."

"Tunnels? In Vancouver? Are you crazy? Tunnels are expensive and bad, and evil and they'll only cause more traffic ....."

"Well, let's all use bicycles and (our magnificent, European-style) public transport...."

Vancouver traffic sucks big time, because the road system is underbuilt, and yes I'm talking about freeways. Whichever way you cut it, somebody will be waving an eco-flag to stop ANY kind of expressways, even O/ D ramps, particularly in the city proper. and Vancouver is still backwoodsy enough to sit back, let it happen, and go "DUUUUUUUH" in unison, as a response.

Sorry to be so acerbic, but I've been to lots of cities which have comprehensive freeway systems and are just as liveable in that regard (usually better) than Vancouver, because they don't have this weird "LET'S KEEP VANCOUVER AS HOKEY AND RUSTIC AS POSSIBLE" mentality in their cities, and arterial roads gridlocked with cars, as a result (not to mention people taking fast shortcuts through residential streets where children may be playing .... )

Vancouver's Road Planning is shit. Case closed.

[ACT7]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

"... duhh; don't build any freeways, and there won't be any extra traffic."

"Freeways, are bad and eveil and ugly and mean and destroy whatever neighbourhood they are in."

"Tunnels? In Vancouver? Are you crazy? Tunnels are expensive and bad, and evil and they'll only cause more traffic ....."

"Well, let's all use bicycles and (our magnificent, European-style) public transport...."

Vancouver traffic sucks big time, because the road system is underbuilt, and yes I'm talking about freeways. Whichever way you cut it, somebody will be waving an eco-flag to stop ANY kind of expressways, even O/ D ramps, particularly in the city proper. and Vancouver is still backwoodsy enough to sit back, let it happen, and go "DUUUUUUUH" in unison, as a response.

Sorry to be so acerbic, but I've been to lots of cities which have comprehensive freeway systems and are just as liveable in that regard (usually better) than Vancouver, because they don't have this weird "LET'S KEEP VANCOUVER AS HOKEY AND RUSTIC AS POSSIBLE" mentality in their cities, and arterial roads gridlocked with cars, as a result (not to mention people taking fast shortcuts through residential streets where children may be playing .... )

Vancouver's Road Planning is shit. Case closed.

I totally agree that road planning is shit in Vancouver. The fact that you have to cut through residential areas to get just about anywhere is nuts. But this study is bullshit. Someone on another site somewhere pointed out that you can't compare a 15 minute drive that turns into 25 minutes in Vancouver (66% difference) to a 40 minute drive that turns into an hour (50% difference) in Toronto on a 16 lane freeway. The latter is waaaaaaay more congested.

[Klazu]

I don't think this study means only Vancouver, but the whole Fraser Valley. I would also think that once the Gateway program is finished, we will give Canada's number one spot to some other city.

There are only two really congested places in Fraser Valley and those are Port Mann Bridge and Lions Gate Bridge. Everywhere else traffic flows most of the day pretty fine. Of course the average speeds are not that high, but that is because of the streets and traffic lights on Vancouver's soil.

My point is that at least I don't think situation is that bad and there are already projects in progress to address it.

[The_Henry_Man]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I don't think this study means only Vancouver, but the whole Fraser Valley. I would also think that once the Gateway program is finished, we will give Canada's number one spot to some other city.

There are only two really congested places in Fraser Valley and those are Port Mann Bridge and Lions Gate Bridge. Everywhere else traffic flows most of the day pretty fine. Of course the average speeds are not that high, but that is because of the streets and traffic lights on Vancouver's soil.

My point is that at least I don't think situation is that bad and there are already projects in progress to address it.

Obviously I don't think you've ever seen the traffic backup on Oak Street Bridge, Knight Street Bridge and the entire Russ Baker Way and Arthur Laing Bridge route. For the latter, the traffic goes all the way from Dinsmore Bridge all the way to Granville/W.70th. I would take that route everyday when I used to go to UBC. Usually it's a 30min drive, which can be around 50min to an hr if there's heavy traffic. COV needs to repeal the "no more new lanes into the city" policy and address bridge bottlenecks ASAP. But I know Mayor Moonbeam and his "Vision" Greenie radicals wouldn't do jack.

[s211]

Originally Posted by ACT7

This report looked at differentials between rush hour and non-rush hour, so take it with a grain of salt, people. All it tells me is that non rush hour traffic in Vancouver is not that bad. And Ottawa?? Please...
There is no way Vancouver is more congested than NYC, Toronto, and Montreal. it's just that those cities are perpetually congested so the differential is less.

Thanks for pointing that out. Gotta love how the media craves sensationalist headlines that always seem to distort things.