Which Texas City Has the WORST TRAFFIC? | Texas Metros Ranked by Traffic

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  • Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024

Комментарии • 1,1 тыс.

  • @mattbowdenuh
    @mattbowdenuh Год назад +281

    As a Texan who has lived in every one of these cities, you got it right. Austin is the worst, hands down, because I-35 is the only road.

    • @edman813
      @edman813 Год назад +20

      It doesn't help that the suburbs only have 1 particular road too
      Cedar Park/Leander US 183
      Round Rock/Georgetown + Buda and Kyle I-35
      Del Valle/Bastrop Hwy 71
      Manor/Elgin N 290
      Dripping Springs/Oak Hill the damned South 290

    • @ik04
      @ik04 11 месяцев назад +7

      I concur. Been there, seen that!

    • @jesuslovesthebroken
      @jesuslovesthebroken 11 месяцев назад

      exactly! as a driver in Austin, I hate that every major suburb here only has one way in and out. @@edman813

    • @Skies_of_Neptune
      @Skies_of_Neptune 11 месяцев назад +6

      Especially during acl

    • @nioxianlerma9201
      @nioxianlerma9201 11 месяцев назад +5

      Ngl it’s similar to Orlando with I-4 no other routes

  • @cliffsta87337
    @cliffsta87337 Год назад +358

    All of them.

    • @MileageMike485
      @MileageMike485  Год назад +38

      Lol a fair point

    • @Electrodexify
      @Electrodexify Год назад +15

      I'm from Omaha and we don't love highways as much as the South because we have many walkable neighborhoods. We even plan on taking down part of i480, and turning into a boulevard so that our neighborhoods are better connected.
      Everytime I have to go to Kansas City, Tulsa and Dallas; it's so stress inducing to drive in those cities

    • @charleskummerer
      @charleskummerer Год назад +7

      San Antonio traffic isn’t bad at all imo. I say that though as someone who lived in Chicago and Atlanta before so my view is warped

    • @Joshua429
      @Joshua429 Год назад

      17:34 well I know a place in Texas that this guy completely ignored aka El Paso because if there’s an accident on there you’re gonna have to take the 2-4 lane suburb roads

    • @raamyasharahla535
      @raamyasharahla535 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@Joshua429We don’t consider El Paso Texas🤣

  • @pauly1k
    @pauly1k Год назад +192

    It’s crazy how big Houston is. The fact that both the cities of Oakland & San Francisco can fit comfortably inside beltway 8 is wild to me. I’m a native Houstonian and it blows my mind.

    • @mattryan7124
      @mattryan7124 Год назад +27

      Blows my mind that Harris County alone is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. And that Houston Metro area encompasses all of Harris plus massive parts of multiple surrounding counties

    • @vibrantgleam
      @vibrantgleam Год назад +5

      @@mattryan7124 You know what they say? Everything's bigger in Texas!

    • @LightoftheMoon
      @LightoftheMoon Год назад +8

      ​@@mattryan7124Even though I have lived in Houston numerous times since 1998, I finally left Houston last August 2022; hopefully for the last time ever. It was taking me about an hour and a half to drive 15 miles when I got off work, so I quit my Houston job and left Texas. It used to be decent back in 1998. Quality of life in Houston is miserable in my lived in opinion. I do miss HEB and El Rancho markets, tho I don't miss 40+ cars trying to get into the parking lots of each on a Saturday morning 😄

    • @cjthompson420
      @cjthompson420 11 месяцев назад +8

      So true though to be fair, I’m from 2nd ward and never leave the inner loop honestly so most of it is just there lol. Remember when Kingwood got annexed? We tried to warn them to incorporate. Now we’re what, almost 700 square miles? Too much 😭😂

    • @cjthompson420
      @cjthompson420 11 месяцев назад +7

      @@LightoftheMoonHEB! I missed it so much in college when I was in NYC. Where did you move to? Hope you’re enjoying your new home. Thinking about moving sometimes but I find myself back in Houston 😂

  • @AustinBeal1
    @AustinBeal1 Год назад +192

    I live in San Antonio, and to highlight how bad I-35 can be, I was driving home from Little Rock, and as I was approaching DFW I checked my phone and it recommended continuing west past DFW on I-20 to US-281 and take that all the way to SA. This was an additional 80ish miles and it was still going to get me home 45 minutes sooner.
    281 was very smooth sailing the whole way and super enjoyable, felt like an old fashioned American road trip driving through all those small towns.

    • @gregorriusadolphus2729
      @gregorriusadolphus2729 Год назад +20

      I live in San Antonio too but my family is in DFW....using 281 during the holidays to avoid the 35 rush is like the best Texas travel hack!

    • @sasquatchhunter86
      @sasquatchhunter86 Год назад +10

      It’s like going to/from LA. I’m in central California, and when there’s an accident or traffic on the main part to LA, it’s actually better to loop around towards Las Vegas/Arizona, then back to LA. More miles but it’s less time. I’ve been stuck on the grapevine when it literally took me an hour and a half to travel a mile 😮 that’s why if I don’t have to go to LA, I won’t!

    • @brixalpha
      @brixalpha Год назад +13

      Love 281, it is a rather pleasant drive. I am glad they are finishing the construction going into Bulverde from San Antonio.

    • @StrangerCoug
      @StrangerCoug Год назад +3

      I'm also in San Antonio. I'm not in a part of town where I normally have to take I-35, but my family is coming from El Paso this Thanksgiving to pick me up and take me to the Cowboys game that my mom wants to see. I should tell them to take US 281-the more traffic from construction in northern San Antonio in general that I can get them to avoid, the better (I personally hate North Loop 1604, and Bandera Rd. can get bad, too).

    • @brixalpha
      @brixalpha Год назад +7

      @@StrangerCoug once you get past Austin 35 to Dallas isn't bad at all. I would take 35 to 130 in Buda to by pass Austin. 130 takes you to Georgetown and you can get back onto 35 from there to Dallas. 130 is a toll road but it's a lot less stressful to drive and you get to see the Tesla Factory on your way up.

  • @dianaurbauer4187
    @dianaurbauer4187 Год назад +46

    I live in Houston and have travelled to Austin and DFW more times than I can count. It is no surprise that you concluded Austin has the worst traffic. My friends and I were talking about this just last week. However, I think Dallas traffic is much worse than Houston traffic. It doesn’t matter which roads I took or the times I drove, but I am always sitting in traffic up there.

    • @goobles3991
      @goobles3991 11 месяцев назад +4

      I feel like Dallas traffic used to be a lot better than Houston, but lately with the huge population increase the infrastructure just can't maintain this many people.

    • @joshuaharper372
      @joshuaharper372 6 месяцев назад +1

      Houston traffic is definitely worse than Dallas (grew up in Houston and live in Dallas now) except for certain pinch points like the downtown interchange and the DNT or 635 at rush hour. But the DFW road network is so much harder to navigate than Houston's; my parents nearly always get lost when they come to visit.

  • @z-z-z-z
    @z-z-z-z Год назад +42

    great job, you absolutely nailed it 100% !!! i live in texas and drive for a living (most all lower 48 states). in texas, feeder roads are your best friend when traffic is congested. BUT, you have to know the exits where you can hop off the frwy to bypass traffic (without red lights) and hop back on; i keep a journal...

  • @elijahgolson2937
    @elijahgolson2937 Год назад +37

    I'm a storm chaser. I was chasing in the Austin area back in March of 2022......NEVER AGAIN!!!! That traffic STILL gives me nightmares.

    • @nach8888
      @nach8888 Год назад +1

      how does someone become a storm chaser im honestly curious ?

    • @elijahgolson2937
      @elijahgolson2937 Год назад +9

      @@nach8888 There's really no "right" way to become a chaser. For someone who may have no formal background in meteorology I would recommend reaching out to your local National Weather Service office and ask them if they provide storm spotter training during the winter/early spring. It takes years of going out there and learning what works and what doesn't work. Also depends on where you live as well. Some places are NOT good places to chase at all.

    • @adminbird
      @adminbird Год назад

      I was working from home while a tornado hit a mile away lmao. Was traffic bad?

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад

      I’d imagine chasing in cities is much tougher

    • @elijahgolson2937
      @elijahgolson2937 Год назад +1

      @@highway2heaven91 it is. 10/10 don’t recommend AT ALL! Even in traditional tornado alley

  • @CosmicKangaroo
    @CosmicKangaroo Год назад +72

    As someone who grew up in Austin, I was always told that Houston had the worst traffic when I was a kid. But since moving out of Austin back in 2013, I never realized how bad traffic was in Austin. Even the major arterials get traffic jammed during rush hour, with Wells Branch Parkway in North Austin being a notable example. I also think Seattle (where I live now) and Austin share a-lot of parallels in terms of their traffic congestion.

    • @sharpieman2035
      @sharpieman2035 Год назад +11

      It’s way worse now than 2013

    • @mattryan7124
      @mattryan7124 Год назад +2

      Well Houston is in a constant state of construction one if not all of those major roadways for lengthening, widening, and repair. So it’s always adapting.
      I didn’t see anything remotely like that in Austin while I lived there 4 years

    • @JakeKoenig
      @JakeKoenig Год назад +3

      Our bypass highway system is WAY behind the population explosion. We don't have a single full bypass loop, and we need like three of them. I have my secret shortcuts through various neighborhoods, but it's still slow going. They're slowly adding tollways and some extra lanes along 183, but the population is outgaining the construction.

    • @MrSupernova111
      @MrSupernova111 Год назад +2

      I lived in North Austin in 2008. It was bad then. I can't imagine what is like now.

    • @PatricenotPatrick
      @PatricenotPatrick Год назад +4

      True. The Austin population has tripled since 1980. Back in the day Austin was a cute lil city/small town. Now it’s insanely populated but the elected officials seem to neither want any non tolled roads with over 2-3 lanes or a transit system. That capital metro was a bust

  • @gregorriusadolphus2729
    @gregorriusadolphus2729 Год назад +43

    I agree with your list. Don't forget that San Antonio is the only Texas metro now that does NOT have any toll roads!

    • @Nightshade-dh9fm
      @Nightshade-dh9fm Год назад +5

      Meanwhile I don't have a single toll road in my entire state lol. Unless you count the national parks, but even those are free if you get in before 8 a.m.

    • @piglet7943
      @piglet7943 Год назад +1

      @@Nightshade-dh9fmyou’re state isn’t as prosperous as Texas I can guarantee you that and I don’t even know what state you’re from. 😂😂😂

    • @Nightshade-dh9fm
      @Nightshade-dh9fm Год назад +6

      @@piglet7943 well duh lol, it's #2 and trends show it surpassing California, so it'll be #1, literally no state will be as economic as Texas, it's funny with such a large economy, they still need to toll you 🙃.

    • @piglet7943
      @piglet7943 Год назад +2

      @@Nightshade-dh9fm will I will tell you one thing. Just in case you weren’t aware. The states will impose taxes in order for them to collect revenue. Some states do it in the form or sales tax. Some in the form or property tax and others in the form of state income tax. Others like Texas receive revenue from the toll road tax but every state rises revenue in different ways but they will ALL tax. You’re state is no different and I hope you don’t believe otherwise. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

    • @Nightshade-dh9fm
      @Nightshade-dh9fm Год назад +6

      @@piglet7943 I get why there are taxes but toll taxes are supposed to pay for the road, I just don't get why you need that when gas tax is already supposed to do that, seems like double taxation to me. Texas has no income tax, but has sales tax 6-8%, property tax avg .55%, and tolls everywhere, no thanks.
      My state has a very low income tax, the highest bracket is only 6 percent, my business on paper operates at a loss, so I actually pay no income tax, I have no tolls taxing me, I have below average property tax and I have no sales tax.
      Texas has a massive economy, it should pull plenty of revenue from property taxes, sales taxes, and gas taxes, but yet they feel the need to toll the hell out of everything. If your not careful, you might just be the next California.

  • @RedLeo-pf9yo
    @RedLeo-pf9yo Год назад +14

    I’ve lived in Austin for 52 years, the entire City of Austin has bad traffic. It doesn’t matter where you’re at now. People have moved here like crazy. I built a house for $200,000. Now it’s worth $1 million in 9 years.

  • @GotA-do4ob
    @GotA-do4ob Год назад +26

    Hey Mike! I work at an engineering firm in Conroe, which is in the northern part of the wider Houston area. I work specifically in CAD design, so a lot of my work is dedicated to designing water retention ponds, sanitary/storm/water networks, land development, etc. While I can agree that the looseness of Houston's zoning codes can cause issues in come places, in many newer developments I have worked on recently this has started opening up new possibilities for land owners and how they integrate new housing with existing or developing communities. Small commercial districts (restaurants, local grocery stores, business rental space, etc.) are often being added in the land directly next to the frontage access roads, while the community itself it a bit further in along a main road. This reduces the issue of distance needed to travel to access services or venues.
    Also, I can 100% assure you that Texas is starting to crack down on the floodwater issue. I wont say that development of land in floodplains has stopped, because it hasn't, but more and more strict measures are beginning to fall in place concerning retention pond construction and the overall capacity of storm networks. We still have a long way to go, but it is getting better. Houston is continuing to spread outwards, particularly to the north, and the sheer number of people that have begun to move to the state has prompted an unprecedented wave of residential and commercial development. The area where I grew up was always very rural, but once construction of the Grand Parkway where it connects to 59 was finished it's like the place turned into a concrete jungle overnight! The expansion is forcing smaller cities and townships, as well as Houston itself, to get things in shape! I won't say it's all good, as I have my own feelings about the sprawling Houston footprint, but it is what it is. Houston also has plans for a massive overhaul of the highway where it cuts through the middle of downtown (where it passes by Minute Maid Park), and Houston also has a major railway project to connect to Dallas on the horizon.

    • @huh4tofpv384
      @huh4tofpv384 Год назад +1

      I'm in the woodlands.. mail carrier. I'm sure you stay busy in Montgomery County

    • @GotA-do4ob
      @GotA-do4ob Год назад +2

      @huh4tofpv384 Less busy recently since residential land development is slowing down. It's mostly utility and public works stuff at the momen, though that will keep us going for the foreseeable future. Shenandoah and the Woodlands keep us plenty busy usually, and the population boom is creating problems everywhere. The scramble for sanitary, storm, and water utility expansion is bringing business from new counties and municipalities.

    • @SaudadeSunday
      @SaudadeSunday 11 месяцев назад

      Insurance needs to stop being subsidized by taxpayers under the NFIP. It's too bad the 2012 reforms didn't stick and force people out of the city.

    • @fastsetinthewest
      @fastsetinthewest 10 месяцев назад

      The problem in Texas is Millennials and Houston!

  • @LenTexDIY
    @LenTexDIY Год назад +12

    I live in the Austin area. You are spot on. Austin traffic absolutely SUCKS!

  • @ReallyBadDriving
    @ReallyBadDriving Год назад +107

    A buddy of mine lives in Austin. The Mopac is basically the way that all the locals take to get around the I-35 traffic. He would appreciate it if all the newbies and tourists stay on I-35.

    • @thevarietykid686
      @thevarietykid686 Год назад +7

      I often look at traffic maps during rush hour and measure the time between two points to figure out the average speed on the congested freeways, and I’ve noticed many times it recommends taking that road

    • @BroadwayLTDProductions
      @BroadwayLTDProductions Год назад +3

      US-183 is nice too but it is a troll road….

    • @adminbird
      @adminbird Год назад +3

      That’s certainly an idea, the worst part is the historically segregated and redlined neighborhoods are all along 35, primarily east of it, so those who are able to work from home are even less likely to live along 35 north of, say, 51st

    • @notext2
      @notext2 Год назад +4

      I have lived in the Austin area for quite a long time. For the last 8 years I have used Waze, 4 years living in Round Rock and the last 4 in Leander. Quite a few people in Austin use Waze so it is usually pretty accurate. Unless something terrible has happened Mopac has almost never been the fastest route, It always says 183 or I-35 is the fastest. It isn't good getting off 183 or I-35 to go into downtown. It is mostly only beneficial if you live near Mopac or work at a place right off Mopac.

    • @saddestchord7622
      @saddestchord7622 Год назад

      I haven't lived in Austin for a long time, but when I was there, I found MOPAC to be pretty useless. Depends on where you live, I guess. I was in Hyde Park and went downtown or South most of the time. You'd have to drive quite a way on surface streets just to get to MOPAC. Guadelupe and Lamar crawled but were still faster.
      There are no East/West freeways there, which is fine, but there aren't many good East/West streets, either.
      They really need mass transit. I moved from there in 2007 and things were already getting pretty bad. Now it's just insane. And you'd think it's the kind of town that would support rail, but...yeah.

  • @TupyWbie
    @TupyWbie Год назад +26

    When we lived in Waco back in the 90s, we often went to San Antonio. The best route was to go west from Waco on US 84 to Evant and take US 281 south, bypassing Austin completely. GPS will tell you that's a lot more miles and a little more time, but the traffic in Austin was so unpredictable (or so predictably bad) even 30 years ago, that it was worth the detour. Besides, there's some really nice scenery out that way.

    • @Potato_pigeon
      @Potato_pigeon Год назад +4

      Yea. Tho as someone who regularly goes from San Antonio to Killeen via 281 I’ll say it’s a lot better scenery if you head west fro
      Burnet to llano and take 16 to i10. And come in that way. It may add a bit more miles and time but the drive is soooooo worth it.

    • @devynlich00
      @devynlich00 Год назад +1

      you can also bypass Austin by going through Lago Vista it's absolutely beautiful scenery over there

    • @bearworldwide101
      @bearworldwide101 Год назад

      That is true one accident on 35 can back you out about a couple hours depending how bad it gets and whether the road is closed closed or trickling on one lane and this was the old 35 when it was 4 lanes wide and narrow shoulders between Waco and Austin.

    • @thetapheonix
      @thetapheonix Год назад

      Shhh 281 is still a secret, dont tell anyone or it'll get clogged up with Californians just like Austin.

  • @MartyCantrell
    @MartyCantrell Год назад +17

    As a native Houstonian, I have to say, you forget to take in account the fact so many here just can't drive. I drove 48 hours one day in Houston.

    • @Danokh
      @Danokh 4 месяца назад +2

      Literally every city says that people in thier city can't drive

    • @kevingray8616
      @kevingray8616 3 месяца назад +2

      They can drive if you can get them off of their GD cell phones.

    • @Danokh
      @Danokh 3 месяца назад +2

      @@kevingray8616 That's the definition of being a bad driver

  • @ryeboirox
    @ryeboirox Год назад +8

    I lived in Dallas for 15 years and I’ve lived in Austin for about 2 now. Austin is by far the worst traffic I’ve ever experienced. It’s a really cool city and has great walkability

  • @fyaboijay
    @fyaboijay Год назад +55

    Coming from a trucker, you nailed this video. I frequently drive Dallas to Laredo. I usually take the 130 toll to avoid Austin regardless of the time of day. It’s smooth a free of traffic but I have to pay $60 one way for the toll to bypass the city. Still better than the traffic or the unsafe drivers going thru the middle of Austin. You nailed it as far as the other cities as well. Keep these vids coming!

    • @bradmyers5354
      @bradmyers5354 11 месяцев назад +3

      Kinda shocked you actually take the toll around Austin. That was the selling point, but then the company that owns the toll roads priced trucks per axel with no discount for transportation companies. There’s hardly ever any trucks taking the tolls to avoid going through Austin, because of how they priced trucks so much more than cars.

    • @underSTATEDexcellence
      @underSTATEDexcellence 11 месяцев назад

      Exactly you can avoid Austin’s traffic you can’t do that in the other cities. So he didn’t mail it on the order.

    • @faervas1234
      @faervas1234 11 месяцев назад

      The worst traffic I ever drove was Laredo to Dallas the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It normally 7 hours with stops at West. once I hit downtown San Antonio. it was bumper to bumper all the way to Dallas. 35 miles an hour taking 13 hours. Imagine 3 major University all ending their Fall semesters with their students heading home for the holidays.

    • @chipwilliams6236
      @chipwilliams6236 11 месяцев назад +2

      damn 60 dollars thats insane

    • @sandasturner9529
      @sandasturner9529 11 месяцев назад

      Couldn't agree more

  • @JVHShack
    @JVHShack Год назад +6

    Traffic congestion; one of the main reasons why I left Austin as a whole. This is after spending the majority of my childhood there growing up.

  • @AluraCirce
    @AluraCirce 11 месяцев назад +6

    I grew up in Southern California, but have lived in Texas in both Austin and Houston for some time now (not simultaneously). The one thing about the Houston road system that drives me batty is the lack of consistency. Sometimes, a frontage road has a left lane that forces you back on to the freeway, sometimes it doesn't. That same lane, at the traffic light, could force you to merge right by ending just after that light. The lane you use to get on to the freeway could also be a new lane, or maybe it happens to be a merge, just at this one onramp. This lack of consistency means one cannot predict the safest course of action in an area they are not too familiar with, so increases the likelihood of accidents. That doesn't even touch on the strange way there seem to be schools on every major road used as a thoroughfare, or the odd stop sign on that same major street when it crosses a county line. Quirky is an understatement.

  • @aaronblanco8204
    @aaronblanco8204 Год назад +11

    Hwy 130 is worth every penny to bypass Austin from San Antonio to DFW. You forgot to mention it's an 85mph speed limit for most of it and was built by a Spanish company like a race track with wider lanes and easy, swooping curves. Miles of nothing to look at (except for the new Tesla factory) as you avoid Austin gridlock. The only waiting in lines is when you stop off at any of the Lockhart BBQ joints for the best smoked brisket anywhere.

    • @adminbird
      @adminbird Год назад +3

      I cruised 110mph and was getting passed by semis and a cop

    • @rodrickcross
      @rodrickcross Год назад +2

      Nah facts tho..as a truck driver I don't even think about it anymore. I'm just like screw it pay the toll

    • @j317
      @j317 3 месяца назад +1

      ​@adminbird a semi going more than 110?

  • @TheMarioBrosBros
    @TheMarioBrosBros Год назад +12

    San Antonio has some big projects that are happening. I know you talked about the interchanges on i35 which they are now making a double decker though the city. 1604 is also has a lot construction happening that will revamp a lot of old infrastructure. 281 North is almost done with the project that they are doing. I know a lot of different projects are in the works for the SA area.

  • @justabaldguy
    @justabaldguy Год назад +38

    Incredibly well done. You nailed it many times over. I live in northwest Houston (practically Tomball or Cypress), and your line about Houston travel being exhausting is painfully accurate. It's just brutal. Everywhere takes a long time via car, and most of the time you'll opt to pay a toll. My only real goal in life is to get out of here, sell my car, and live in a walkable (hopefully European) city. 😀

    • @JB-qt4hp
      @JB-qt4hp Год назад +3

      I know that part of town. There are zero major highways in that area that aren't at least partial toll roads, unless you live far enough west to use 290. And until they finished upgrading it, 290 was THE worst highway to get around in the city.

    • @joethomas2354
      @joethomas2354 Год назад +6

      The flip side of Houston's lack of zoning is that it creates neighborhoods. In Montrose and some other areas, you have places where you can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, etc. And honestly, when you look at it closely, Houston resembles many other cities that DO have zoning. The problem with zoning it that it limits development to rich, powerful people, who can always force through exceptions. At least in Houston people can start a business wherever they want without having to bribe anybody.

    • @justabaldguy
      @justabaldguy Год назад +6

      @@joethomas2354 There are a few areas in Houston where one could live moderately well without requiring a car. You'd be limited to those neighborhoods as traveling elsewhere would prove difficult due to the weak public transit options, but your daily life would likely be fine for walking and perhaps biking.
      Houston does have unique zoning laws, or sometimes, the lack thereof. Houston doesn't quite allow people to start a business wherever they want. For example they must always meet the requirements for parking. An individual would not be able to buy a house in a suburb and convert it to a corner store or bar. Compare these limitations to other countries such as Japan where citizens can work directly from their homes selling goods and services. Another issue could be the same rich and powerful opening industrial or commercial buildings adjacent to residential areas much to the chagrin of the residents already living there. We're seeing more of this as wooded plots are bulldozed for strip centers. The zoning is a two-edged sword.

    • @joethomas2354
      @joethomas2354 Год назад +2

      @@justabaldguy An excellent response. Thank you.

    • @Potato_pigeon
      @Potato_pigeon Год назад

      nah. 130 for life. I use it when going from killeen to san antonio and its a breeze but those commercial trucks need to stay off or drive faster than only 75

  • @stogieguy7
    @stogieguy7 Год назад +20

    First off, I have to agree with your rankings 100%! Having been to all four areas, it’s clear that Austin’s setup is nothing like you find elsewhere in the state. We were just in Austin and San Antonio a couple of weeks ago and the only snag in the SA area was (you guessed it) I-35 between the northeast suburbs and New Braunfels - and it was no fun going northward to Austin either. We stayed just off the MoPac, which was never bad however. That said, your description of the traffic patterns around Austin were spot on. Not to mention that the hill country starts just west of Austin, attracting a lot of high end housing development and people who will fight new freeway corridors in that area. I’d be shocked if I live to see Toll 45 ever complete that west side loop.

    • @adminbird
      @adminbird Год назад +4

      You should see Mopac in the mornings. I commute most of the length and 25 minutes without traffic can be 30 minutes some days, 70 minutes on others especially if UT is in session

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад +3

      Yeah, even in freeway lovin’ Texas they still struggle with NIMBYism.

    • @stogieguy7
      @stogieguy7 Год назад +3

      @@highway2heaven91 Particularly in Austin.

    • @Potato_pigeon
      @Potato_pigeon Год назад +1

      The hill country actually starts more out SW by Uvalde and goes north and ends in the De leon-Dublin area

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад

      @@Potato_pigeon I think he meant the eastern extent of the Hill Country.

  • @razkrunk3169
    @razkrunk3169 Год назад +483

    The worst part of traffic in Texas cities is the lack of any meaningful alternatives to driving.

    • @mxdanger
      @mxdanger Год назад +103

      The irony that nearly everyone in Texas doesn’t have the freedom to choose how they get around because of the government and lobbying companies.

    • @AB365_Official
      @AB365_Official Год назад +11

      DART

    • @bjorkfan9290
      @bjorkfan9290 Год назад +15

      @@AB365_Official which is notoriously bad

    • @AB365_Official
      @AB365_Official Год назад +10

      @@bjorkfan9290 better than nothing tbh

    • @u.s.6909
      @u.s.6909 Год назад +30

      I would love to see Texas implement Switzerland style public transportation and Chinese style high speed rail for long distance.

  • @DataD-o1p
    @DataD-o1p 11 месяцев назад +3

    This was a perfect analysis of Texas traffic. I grew up and still live in Austin. Texas needs the type of rail transport we see in well developed Asian and European countries.

    • @david-1775
      @david-1775 10 месяцев назад

      Those don't work in big sprawling cities. They only work in cities where everybody lives on top of each other. If you want that then move to Chicago, Boston, San Francisco or NYC.

  • @thefergyfilms
    @thefergyfilms Год назад +25

    Never understood the hype for Austin. Traffic completely ruins the city.

    • @al99795
      @al99795 Год назад

      you would have to live downtown for it to be worth it

    • @JamesIsShort
      @JamesIsShort Год назад +2

      I don't think it's just traffic that ruins Austin, but it's certainly a large part

    • @littlejoestar4
      @littlejoestar4 Год назад +2

      same, lived in Houston for 15 years and wanted to get out because of the hurricanes and pollution so we took a weekend trip to check out Austin and that was all I needed to see. Horrible traffic, loads of homeless people, and unaffordable housing. We ended up moving to Nashville a couple years ago since it has a similar vibe to Austin but way more charm and more affordable suburbs. Traffic sucks now but it has a ways to go to reach Austin’s level of congestion

    • @gigiontube
      @gigiontube Год назад +1

      The hype:
      1) jobs for the IT professionals.
      Oracle corporation
      Dell
      Apple Campus
      AMD. Industry: Computer Hardware Development. ...
      Amazon. Industry: Internet and Web Services. ...
      Apple. Industry: Computer Hardware Development. ...
      Dell. Industry: Information Technology Support Services. ...
      Meta Platforms (Facebook) ...
      Google. ...
      IBM. ...
      Intel Corporation.
      Other professionals
      Boring Co (Pflugerville)
      And a lot more
      2) second reason
      Austin is inundated: Lots of Californians who can’t afford California’s living costs anymore move to Texas. Austin is rather a democratic city (especially when compared to Dallas or Houston).
      And that demystifies the reason why Austin has the worst traffic of all cities in Tx, and in the last few years drug addicts and homeless started to appear all over the city.

  • @NebulonRanger
    @NebulonRanger Год назад +90

    Honestly, widening I35 in Austin probably won't fix the congestion. Just gotta look at the 20-lane monstrosity that is the 401 through Toronto for a good indication of why.

    • @sm3675
      @sm3675 Год назад

      The 6ix 🔛🔝💀

    • @BroadwayLTDProductions
      @BroadwayLTDProductions Год назад +20

      And the ridiculous amount of time that TxDOT takes to do these projects actually screws up traffic more than it helps!

    • @JimAllen-Persona
      @JimAllen-Persona Год назад +1

      Usage increases to meet/exceed expanded capacity.

    • @JaKingScomez
      @JaKingScomez Год назад +1

      20 lanes😱

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад +17

      A new lane will fix it in the short term but they’ll have to invest in transit and build more mixed-use development in the long term.

  • @PaulyWally30
    @PaulyWally30 2 месяца назад +2

    This video makes me appreciate my Corpus traffic.

  • @henrystowe6217
    @henrystowe6217 11 месяцев назад +2

    Very accurate assessment of the traffic situation. Houston is bad. It takes at least two hours to get from south Houston to huntsville. The area is one giant sea of concrete chain restaurants, discount shopping strips, car dealers and billboards. I45 in the rural areas is as congested as in the city due to underbuilding. In thr rurals, we hit capacity collapse often.

  • @14sasst
    @14sasst 11 месяцев назад +1

    I have lived in Austin, Houston, and Dallas and you are RIGHT ON !!

  • @CitizenTowel
    @CitizenTowel Год назад +19

    I clapped for joy when you mentioned Dallas' arterials being able to accommodate a protected bike lane! I've thought this for years, and there's an example on Columbia (b/w Gaston & Beacon) of it being implemented and working well.
    I've been a delivery driver/courier in DFW for over a decade, and you're spot on about what the traffic here is: horrendous at junctions (anyone actually ever cruised thru going from 75N to 635W??) but otherwise a lot more free-flowing; at off peak hours you get to see what it would be like if it had reasonable traffic all the time, it's so quick.
    I'd add: the closer you are to the city center of Dallas the easier it is to take/find an alternate route.

    • @Electrodexify
      @Electrodexify Год назад

      But Dallas is an oven, I went there in early spring and was very uncomfortable with the muggy hot weather. I'll take 4 seasons rather than deal with a perpetual oven.

    • @benjaminfang1424
      @benjaminfang1424 Год назад +1

      @@Electrodexify If your going to move to Texas, be prepared to deal with heat waves every summer from June to August!

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад

      @@ElectrodexifyAnd Dallas is actually the coolest of the major metros in Texas.

  • @maxtrenck8511
    @maxtrenck8511 Год назад +1

    As a former resident of Houston and currently live in Austin, you are spot on concerning traffic! Thanks for the most enjoyable video!

  • @adri6nn
    @adri6nn Год назад +16

    i love driving on the texas highways at night calms my nerves

    • @dwjoseph59
      @dwjoseph59 Год назад +3

      Best times, most of the bad driving fools are still sleeping 😴 💤!!

  • @metallikat05
    @metallikat05 Год назад +21

    I visited Texas by road for the first time for 8 days in March. Houston is just crazy. I don’t know if “awful” is the right word; the way the exits are arranged, and the sheer craziness of the drivers, I easily say Houston was the most miserable I’ve personally ever experienced.

    • @JB-qt4hp
      @JB-qt4hp Год назад +3

      The worst part of Houston traffic is the sheer distance between areas. Phoenix and L.A. are the only city sprawls that can compare that I'm familiar with.

    • @joethomas2354
      @joethomas2354 Год назад +1

      You've never driven in Boston, then.

    • @98slime86
      @98slime86 Год назад +3

      I understand the drivers but the exits are your complaint? 🤣 really just read the signs 😂

    • @metallikat05
      @metallikat05 Год назад +5

      @@98slime86 So, getting on, unfamiliar with the area, having to merge onto these 4 lane wide highways, loaded with traffic, then, realizing quickly that your exit is all the way on the left, and you’re on the right? Tell me that isn’t jarring.

    • @98slime86
      @98slime86 Год назад +4

      @@metallikat05 thats why you know your exit before you get on the highway 😂 you dont hop on and wait for navigation to tell you click the directions and read the stepbt step ahead of time especially if you know you dont knew the area and that isnt often only exits onto other highways are on the left so you most

  • @trentk268
    @trentk268 Год назад +3

    Downtown San Antonio and the 1604 loop have had extensive construction in the past couple of years which makes traveling this way a real pain. My interest is in New Braunfels, so I take the turnout at Boerne and take River Road (Texas Hwy 46).

  • @franks5360
    @franks5360 Год назад +6

    I enjoy your analysis of the Texas freeways and other places you have been. I hope you are able to make it to the Metro Phoenix area in the future. Would love to see your opinion of the freeway network out here.

    • @MileageMike485
      @MileageMike485  Год назад +1

      Definitely. Hoping to get out there sometime in 2024

  • @SKEptic-mg2dd
    @SKEptic-mg2dd 11 месяцев назад +2

    Good assessment. I've lived in both Dallas (50 years) and Houston (25) and the lack of alternative routes make Houston a nightmare. That coupled with developments with usually have only one way in and out makes getting around in Htown no fun.

    • @CajunGators
      @CajunGators 11 месяцев назад +1

      Hello fellow Houstonian! This is kinda true for east/west routes for sure. But what I do love is the hardy toll road parallel to 45. When coming back from Dallas, it’s a lifesaver! Houston messed up with the westpark tollway though I’ll give you that lol! Hope you’re enjoying the cool front 😊

  • @ramencurry6672
    @ramencurry6672 Год назад +2

    I love his voice, I could listen him talk all day

  • @edowens9481
    @edowens9481 11 месяцев назад +5

    This is correct. I lived in San Antonio for years, and Austin always had worst traffic. I live outside of Houston now and Austin is still worst. It's their own fault. The people of Austin consistently voted down highway construction in the city.

  • @michaelmusson3593
    @michaelmusson3593 Год назад +6

    I have lived in Austin since 1971 and have seem it go from 300 thousand to what it is now. You are exactly right the idea that if you don't build it they won't come but it didn't work. During the 80's the thought was to keep the city small and then came Dell Computers and Austin became a tech hub and it grew like crazy. The upper deck on I35 that is in the downtown section should have been extended all the way to Slaughter during the mid 80's for people going thru Austin and not going downtown. The traffic on I35 only get to move normally around 1AM.

    • @mclovinjwst
      @mclovinjwst 10 месяцев назад

      Thanks for the history!

  • @QuizHeavenTriviawithJonas
    @QuizHeavenTriviawithJonas Год назад +13

    I’m not surprised Austin is #1, I definitely noticed a weeks ago that I-35 is the only interstate in the metro. Most midsize cities like Austin or even smaller would average at least 2 interstate highways. Nashville which has been growing like Austin has 5, while Kansas City has 7.

    • @ace20016
      @ace20016 Год назад +3

      Orlando metropolitan area only has one interstate (Interstate 4). All the other limited access highways in the Orlando metropolitan area are tolled state roads. Granted I-4 is wider than I-35 from the north end of tourist area to the north suburbs in Seminole County.
      -Florida resident who lives east of the Orlando metropolitan area on the space coast of Florida

    • @PelicanGuy
      @PelicanGuy Год назад

      KC only has four main interstates: 29, 35 49 and 70, plus four auxiliaries.

    • @QuizHeavenTriviawithJonas
      @QuizHeavenTriviawithJonas Год назад +2

      @@PelicanGuy , when I said seven, I included the 435, 470, and 635 since they are in the metro and have the interstate designation. I 35 is the only interstate designation in Austin.

    • @truckercowboyed2638
      @truckercowboyed2638 Год назад

      Technically Nashville has 3 main interstates, i40, i24 and i65

    • @ion475
      @ion475 Год назад +2

      Not surprise at Austin.
      Was bad 15 years ago when I went to UT, and Austin metro area population only doubled since then.

  • @Kenyon712
    @Kenyon712 Год назад +2

    Very good, unbiased, and factual video.

  • @HowardBobson
    @HowardBobson Год назад +9

    Was driving back home to Denton from DFW airport the other day and took the George Bush to 35 North. The ramp onto 35 North is so high for the first time ever I got vertigo while driving and had to take some deep breaths. It is insane how high that exit is.

    • @MrLdevelle
      @MrLdevelle Год назад +2

      And waiting at the bottom right before 121 is a long line of cars

    • @tomstrat1951
      @tomstrat1951 Год назад +1

      So true about the height of ramps. I take the PGBT to 35-E north ramp once a week and I avoid looking down to the sides for fear of that same vertigo

    • @CIRCLEDARK
      @CIRCLEDARK Год назад +4

      Try it on a motorcycle. Things like that never bother me... however, that bothered me -- a lot -- because, unlike in a car that will just hit the barrier and skid to a stop, someone on a bike is just going right over the edge.

    • @originallyik
      @originallyik 11 месяцев назад

      Some of the interchange ramps in DFW are getting ridiculously high. If you've ever used the Tarrant Express lanes for SH 121 South/SH 183 West and you've taken the exit ramp to IH-820 South, be careful. The ramp is so high that you can see downtown Fort Worth and Downtown Dallas. Actually insane

  • @gauravmitm18
    @gauravmitm18 Год назад +2

    Couldn’t agree more. Such a well done video. Keep it up my friend.

  • @TheNotSoOrdinaryCarGuy
    @TheNotSoOrdinaryCarGuy Год назад +3

    I love love love your videos and traffic analysis! I cannot wait until you expand into the West! I’d personally love to hear your take on my favorite American metro area: Phoenix, Arizona. And then of course there’s the city that’s arguably the home of the freeway, Los Angeles. You’ve definitely got a great channel and it will definitely be spark of great conversations between me and my wife, who is a traffic engineer herself.

  • @joeywilliams4083
    @joeywilliams4083 Год назад +7

    You should do a video on I-95 between Richmond and DC next. The traffic is a nightmare through there.

    • @joelcarton8266
      @joelcarton8266 Год назад +2

      Yes!! I go through there when I travel sometimes. Traffic is always backed up. Especially in the Fredericksburg area which is halfway between Richmond and Washington DC.

    • @davidstephan5116
      @davidstephan5116 Год назад

      95 from DC to Baltimore is no picnic either

  • @MarcBookPro
    @MarcBookPro Год назад +4

    I moved from Austin to Atlanta at the beginning of the year. I don’t miss the lack of freeways. In order to get around with minimal traffic, I’d regularly spend about $250 per month in tolls, but even the toll roads backup during peak hours.

    • @originallyik
      @originallyik 11 месяцев назад

      TX-DOT is getting greedy with their toll roads.

  • @angelamalek
    @angelamalek 11 месяцев назад +2

    I35 from San Antonio to Austin is under construction to have an expressway above it. San Antonio has expanded drastically, even in the past five years, making the traffic much more congested than previously. I live outside of Houston and it’s 20 miles through horrific traffic to get anywhere in the city.

  • @dwjoseph59
    @dwjoseph59 Год назад +4

    The freeway mixmaster in downtown dallas, tx is quite an engineering marvel!! We do have many alternate routes around the major texas cities; it's just a lot of people hence the bad a$$ traffic!! I live in the greater houston, tx metro, YES WE DRIVE BAD AS HECK!! Even the TX HWY 99/Grand Parkway Tollway/Outer Tollway in the greater houston, tx metro is growing; many formally open fields & areas now have either businesses or housing on them off of that Grand Parkway Tollway now!!

  • @tixximmi1
    @tixximmi1 Год назад +7

    I moved to Austin back in '04. At that time I would leave at 5:15 am to make it to work by 6:00am. Nearly 20 years later that same trip needs you leaving at 4:10am. And that's with more highways and wider highways. It's been constant building these last 20 years. My wife being in real estate says that there are about 40families moving into the area everyday. That's about 100 new vehicles coming to Austin each and every day for the last 20 years. I'm moving back to California where there's lighter traffic. :)
    And everyone thinks Tesla is huge, just 15 minutes down the street, Samsung is building something 4X larger than Tesla. Oh boy, more people.
    What you're finding is that the suburbs are getting everything you need so you stay out of DT.

    • @sasquatchhunter86
      @sasquatchhunter86 Год назад +3

      Lighter traffic in California 😂 that’s a good one!

  • @Greatest_ever
    @Greatest_ever Год назад +4

    100% agree with your assessment

  • @atilathesonofdanubius4277
    @atilathesonofdanubius4277 11 месяцев назад +1

    Totally agree. I moved a few miles out of Austin to avoid the traffic in I35 and I hardly ever venture into I35 anymore. I use secondary roads for the most part. I avoid I35 like the plague.

  • @GianVersace
    @GianVersace Год назад +4

    I’ve lived in all of them and can confidently say that they ALL have horrible traffic. Texas’s 5th major metro, El Paso, also has horrible traffic and usually took me a little over an hour to get from one side of the city to the other due to the mountains in the middle of the city.

  • @johnwakefield9378
    @johnwakefield9378 7 месяцев назад +1

    You nailed it great job. I lived in Houston 30 yrs and now plano for 14 yrs and been to all the major Texas cities. I think Sam Rayburn toll road in DFW is unique. It connects McKinney to DFW airport that is neither Dallas nor Fort Worth are near it.

  • @Gamexperts2010
    @Gamexperts2010 Год назад +6

    Surprised you didn’t mention 610 at the galleria. Constant gridlock and construction for as long as I can remember.

    • @QuizHeavenTriviawithJonas
      @QuizHeavenTriviawithJonas Год назад +1

      Born and raised in the H town, so I know what you’re talking about especially on southwest freeway at 610 loop. That eventually led to the construction of the needed Westpark toll road In the late 90s early 2000s.

    • @KCDashcammer
      @KCDashcammer Год назад

      Yeah since uptown is basically a mini downtown, you'll get the commuter traffic as well.

    • @d.c.104
      @d.c.104 Год назад

      So right! 610 loop at Westheimer is probably the most gridlock in the city. Policemen are there to direct the traffic at certain times which helps a little.

  • @rmgibsontx
    @rmgibsontx 11 месяцев назад +1

    Mileage Mike, you give excellent analyses!

  • @chronicsalt2735
    @chronicsalt2735 Год назад +1

    my grandparents always tell me how much they hate houston’s traffic when they visit because they’re from waco. it’s funny because it’s normal to me because it’s really all i’ve ever driven in. it’s kinda like a prepare for the worst hope for the best situation when learning to drive in houston.

  • @jonathankleinow2073
    @jonathankleinow2073 Год назад +11

    The part about Dallas-Fort Worth reminded me of something: I kind of wish they'd built an I-35W/I-35E split through Kansas City, with W going through KCK and E going through KCMO. There's not an obvious way to split it based on how the highways were built, but it would just be fun to have three "twin citiy" metros all connected by the same interstate with the only suffixes left on the entire system.

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад

      They kinda have that with I-635 but they need to change the number. This probably won’t happen because they eliminated most suffixes in the past and made them beltways. 35W and 35E are among the only ones left.

    • @KCDashcammer
      @KCDashcammer Год назад

      Yeah I-635 already serves that function and is free flowing almost all the time.

    • @waltersaul1807
      @waltersaul1807 Год назад +2

      How about I-69W, I-69C, and I-69E - all in Texas!?

    • @MrLdevelle
      @MrLdevelle Год назад +1

      Kck and kcmo are the same city… Dallas and ft worth are 30 miles apart

    • @tony_m_km6mzp
      @tony_m_km6mzp Год назад

      It's the same way in Minneapolis-St. Paul with I-35W going through Minneapolis and I-35E through St. Paul.

  • @KCDashcammer
    @KCDashcammer Год назад +4

    Great video. Looking forward to more Texas highway discussion videos. Honestly, the future of new highway capacity is tolled in Texas and in a lot of cities in the US. For example they are building the first express lanes here in the KC metro along the Overland Parkway US-69 corridor. It is a heavily traveled corridor for those who live deep south in Overland Park to get to I-35 and I-435. People will just have to suck it up and pay the tolls if you choose to live the car-centric lifestyle, especially in desirable areas that are gaining population.
    In terms of Texas itself, I would say your ranking is accurate. Obviously I-35 in Austin is notorious and tops the list. One of the fastest growing metros in the country with infrastructure decades behind, people really need to know what they are getting into if they decide to move there. In terms of Dallas vs. Houston traffic, as you said Dallas is overall more condensed. I think their freeways are generally more "refined" and build more strategically than Houston. An example would be the LBJ Texpress Lanes. Houston's approach is basically widen until the cows come home or just build another road from scratch. Then San Antonio is just a distant 4th to no one's surprise.
    I also like your comment about how arterial roads should never be more than 6 lanes across. The closest thing here is Metcalf Avenue, the "main street" of Johnson County.

  • @ROFLBOB24
    @ROFLBOB24 Год назад +21

    I travelled a lot for work when I lived in Texas, and I've been to almost every single major and semi-major city in it, oddly enough except for Houston and Midland/Odessa. I'll take your word on Houston, because I cannot possibly imagine a worse city in Texas than Austin. Was coming back from a job in San Antonio (I lived in DFW for 10 years), and it was past 8pm. Traffic was so congested on I-35 that I looked for an alternate route on my GPS which had me taking an auxiliary route all the way AROUND the metroplex, and it still saved me 30 minutes of waiting. Austin traffic was awful, and the drivers were on another level of dumb.

  • @eyanchoate5238
    @eyanchoate5238 11 месяцев назад +1

    Lived in DFW my whole life and you were right about the arterial roads. Almost everyone I know and everything I do is 30-50 min away from me in Frisco, and taking these roads is usually a solid route. It's also nice that if you are running late, there's plenty of tollways to get everywhere and save 15 minutes.
    All you gotta do is reeeaaally love driving (and have hours of podcasts/music to listen to) and you'd love it here 🙄

  • @jaydeeppimpalapure1293
    @jaydeeppimpalapure1293 Год назад +5

    Dallas native here. Although traffic gets VERY bad along many of our freeways at rush it is nowhere near as bad as Houston and Austin at said time. Like you said, what DFW does better is dispersion. You’ll notice the metro isn’t similar to SA and Hou with their “circle” frwy shape and is more north focused. This does have its own flaws but the way they’ve planned the freeways is pretty good.

  • @paulrogers4234
    @paulrogers4234 11 месяцев назад +1

    Right now the construction on I-35 south of Austin towards Buda makes the road bumper to bumper from 7am to 3am.

  • @PlasticMacele
    @PlasticMacele Год назад

    Very professional and informative. And I agree with your ranking 100%.

  • @moho472
    @moho472 Год назад +7

    I hope you visit Ontario. I would love to hear your experiences with Highway 401. The only place where you can hit traffic at 3am.

    • @cigarsgunsanddiesel8032
      @cigarsgunsanddiesel8032 Год назад +2

      NYC too... Cross Bronx is ALWAYS clogged!!!

    • @MileageMike485
      @MileageMike485  Год назад +1

      Planning to head out there this fall.

    • @JimAllen-Persona
      @JimAllen-Persona Год назад

      @@cigarsgunsanddiesel8032don’t forget the BQE. I’m still trying to figure out which is the worse of the two. The Cross Bronx has at least had some work and you’re not driving in and out of the ruts from the semi’s any more.

    • @highway2heaven91
      @highway2heaven91 Год назад +2

      At least Toronto has better transit than anywhere in Texas. It’s more urban too.

    • @dwjoseph59
      @dwjoseph59 Год назад

      The weather channel show's "heavy rescue 401" highway!! 3 am traffic, that's about as bad as it gets right there!! That basically means that nobody really sleeps up there!! I hear that new york city is like that here in america!!

  • @jimmyburke3073
    @jimmyburke3073 9 месяцев назад

    So many thank yous and thumbs up and dittos sir. I am from DFW and returned 5 years ago from over a quarter century in Nebraska. One of my many dittos for you sir is in the context of arterial routes being beneficial and driving around can be quicker and less complicated than one might think. I first was a pizza delivery driver literally more than a third of a century ago in August 1989 and periodically have done so again and driven for Uber and Door including in recent years. And I was even in an MLM in the 2010s travelling in a single weekend across multiple states and back for major events. Also my car could drive itself between Lincoln and Omaha in Nebraska for a few years etc etc. 😀 So...... it resonated with me in a major positive way when you mentioned that including side arterials in Dallas ( and in rest of DFW it makes driving here less complicated than one might think AND as quick or even quicker than "major" routes and highways. I used to do this even in smaller Lincoln, Nebraska driving through residential side streets to avoid lights and traffic etc. So yes sir on several things including this

  • @Will0398
    @Will0398 Год назад +8

    Texas is the best example of adding more lanes NOT fixing traffic

    • @AB365_Official
      @AB365_Official Год назад +2

      That's the Katy Freeway right there...

  • @holygoat
    @holygoat 3 месяца назад +1

    I remember when I was moving from LA to Austin and thinking, "man, I can't wait to not deal with sh***y traffic anymore!" Silly me...

  • @savagekingtexas_3990
    @savagekingtexas_3990 Год назад +5

    Having lived in Austin for 3 years, it's always wild with traffic. Even trying to get to school in West Austin was back up for a long while. I do hate driving through Downtown Austin, I used to take SR130 to get to San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
    Since I moved to New England, going through Boston and NYC is gonna be wild, but I'll get used to it

    • @mattdajedi
      @mattdajedi Год назад

      i used to live in NYC and the views while sitting in traffic were worth it lmao

    • @rituwebpro
      @rituwebpro Год назад

      you can sit on the train that runs from Boston to NYC. In NYC you can have subway boston you have metro

  • @corgrapes
    @corgrapes Год назад +2

    I live in SA and have driven many times in DWF, Houston, and Austin. I've driven in Atlanta and Seattle extensively, too. In my experience, Boston traffic and roadway conditions are easily the worst.

    • @bb-lemon
      @bb-lemon Год назад

      100% agree, Texas native here! I've experienced many traffic in many cities (NYC, LA, Atlanta, etc), but Boston is awful. I would rank it as THE WORST in the country.

  • @Da__goat
    @Da__goat Год назад +33

    If all the out of state people could stop MOVING TO TEXAS we wouldn’t have these problems

    • @johntracy72
      @johntracy72 Год назад +14

      Don't California my Texas is the battle cry.

    • @LightoftheMoon
      @LightoftheMoon 11 месяцев назад +2

      ​@@johntracy72EXACTLY,
      and rightfully SO 😊

    • @BelArtist
      @BelArtist 11 месяцев назад +7

      Texans also have babies, you know? The population is going to grow anyway.

    • @shrim1481
      @shrim1481 11 месяцев назад

      It was bad even before people started to move to Texas.

  • @ljacobs357
    @ljacobs357 Год назад +1

    We live in Houston in North Montrose about 1.5 miles from Downtown. Lots of parks and restaurants in the area within walking distance. We have a 2015 VW with 9,000 miles. No need to drive.

  • @darrylholcomb9076
    @darrylholcomb9076 Год назад +5

    When I worked in Dallas, I often used the arterial streets. I had to go from the east to Irving Blvd. on the west side to work as a otr driver for Yellow Freight System. At rush hour I'd get off I-30, @ Miller Rd. Go south to Military,then west to Irving Blvd. Avoiding downtown all together. I'd never used the toll roads, I'm of the gerneration that believes all highways should be free! As far as I'm concerned I-635 from the high 5 to Loop 12 doesn't exist! The artieriials running paralell to the north & south of it are always preferable & are free. Somtimes its so backed up I avoid the bulk if the city altogether running I-20 around the south side or US 380 on the north.When going to an event downtown, I park at Rowlett, the far eastern terminus of the Dart, & get off @ Victory Center station. Only a couple bucks, & no parking to worry about. Dallas is changing at such a pace, one has to live there to keep up with traffic issues. Always look as far ahead as you can, be ready to get off at any exit, ( so long as your not in a semi with doubles trailers) keep you sense of direction, & worm your way through the surface streets. Getting to DFW can be difficult. Departures often are at rush hour. Coming up 360 from the south or 124 from the north is often preferable than staying on I- 30 from downtown.Once you learn the city, its not so bad. But despite that you'll spend lots if time in backups, and/or bumper to bumper, side by side traffic going 90 mph, then suddenly come to an abrupt slowing to 20, or just stop!

    • @dUdE-420
      @dUdE-420 Год назад

      I don't think Miller road crosses I30. It dose cross I635 a few miles north of I30 but doesn't cross I30 that I'm aware of. Correct me if I'm wrong.

  • @cjthompson420
    @cjthompson420 11 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you Mileage Mike for saying the Katy freeway is free flowing more than it isn’t. Before the expansion, “rush hour” was 7am to 8pm LOL. Now it’s not even that bad until about 3:30ish. Went to high school on the west side. Do not miss old I10 at all!

  • @KR-si3dx
    @KR-si3dx 11 месяцев назад +5

    I used to commute from Plano to downtown Dallas for work. Taking Preston (289) or Hillcrest-Ohio was as fast as 75 or the DNT, so you're on point with the arterial roads being a surprisingly great commuter option. I also agree about converting a lane to protected bike lanes.

  • @moggiemate
    @moggiemate 11 месяцев назад

    5:39 as someone who grew up in Garland, I couldn't agree more.

  • @highway2heaven91
    @highway2heaven91 Год назад +4

    Definitely agree with these rankings. If you love your car, Texas is probably more your speed (no pun intended). If you love urbanism, then Texas probably isn’t for you. Dallas by far is the best in Texas for public transportation but there are still large areas of transit deserts across the DFW metroplex. Transit expansion is also severely limited by the many suburban cities that just don’t want it. Houston is primarily bus-based and is planning to add more BRT but it will need a longer rail line if it seriously wants to have a better transit system. Neither city is really an urbanist paradise. Austin probably has the most potential due to the fact that it is the most compact but it’s just not building fast enough. It needs some long range transit plans soon because it’s traffic is #1 in the state.
    Texas could also benefit from intercity rail between its cities. Texas central is a great idea but opposition is slowing it down, the line needs to go from Frisco to Galveston (not DT Dallas to NW Houston) to maximize its potential. It also needs to have a DFW - SA branch and a SA - Houston branch in the works to help combat congestion between the cities.

    • @orthrus4490
      @orthrus4490 Год назад

      I think a lot of the suburbs(especially as they keep getting bigger) are opening up to dart connection, especially in North and east Dallas. To the west there's been basically no progress, but TRE at least exists and with arlington densifying and the entertainment districts in both Arlington and grand prairie growing I could definitely see dart having a rapid expansion west in the near future, even if it's just bus lines.
      As for the high speed rail, honestly I think they need to focus on just hitting downtown Dallas by a major dart rail station, have a stop in some of the larger towns between Dallas and Houston, and a stop in downtown Houston, with plans to later expand it to Frisco and Galveston. Making the project any bigger than it already is will tempt fate too much and make it even more likely to be delayed or canceled. As long as the unitial corridor goes well, the plan is to make it a backwards L shape, completing the triangle with a corridor from SA through Austin to dfw in the distant future. Honestly, I'm just glad the big cities are trying to make a high speed rail line in a conservative state so that the political side of the public transit debate can be kind of reduced.

  • @zitr074
    @zitr074 8 месяцев назад

    glad you mentioned Arlington’s lack of public transport. it boggles the mind. it also loves its parking lots. such a drag of a city lol

  • @kernlkajun1
    @kernlkajun1 11 месяцев назад +4

    Upon moving to Houston some 42 years ago from a small LA town, the rush hour traffic was the worst. And while it’s still not ideal, a little planning and use of GPS and toll roads have substantially improved life in this vast, diverse and complex city.

  • @davidstephan5116
    @davidstephan5116 Год назад +1

    As a truck driver for over 20 years, I’ve been to every city in this country outside of Hawaii. The worst traffic in the country used to be the Washington DC Beltway. Houston has overtaken in over the past 10ish years

  • @MrDilldock
    @MrDilldock Год назад +3

    Can't wait for you to visit Toronto or Montreal.

  • @alainacallahan5030
    @alainacallahan5030 11 месяцев назад +2

    Houstonian here.... I agree that Austin is the worst. TxDOT seems to have one school of thought... lay down more concrete and pray. I don't know if the engineers will ever think out of the box. Even the Park and Ride system has gotten worse in the last 15 years.

  • @Caglecardscollectibles21
    @Caglecardscollectibles21 Год назад +4

    As someone who has lived in Houston for 32 of his 33 years, I agree with your rankings. I personally think Dallas is worse because I think theyre highways are more confusing. But I’ve always said, Austin is the worst by far! They have the craziest drivers too

    • @bns434
      @bns434 Год назад

      You lived in Houston for 30 years , of course you think Dallas is confusing lmao. I lived in Dallas and Houston & neither is confusing when you’ve lived there for a bit .

  • @CajunGators
    @CajunGators 11 месяцев назад +1

    I don’t think newcomers to Houston even realize how blessed we are. I’ve lived in jersey. You know how much we’d have LOVED 2 extra free lanes added? When I come back from Austin on weekends and there’s traffic on I10 with everyone else coming home, I can pay $1 to shift to the Katy toll lanes all the way to 610. I do it when there’s accidents too. We have it good here y’all. Have you seen Austin’s mopac expressway? YIKES LOL

  • @C63RHtown
    @C63RHtown Год назад +2

    I would have moved Houston over Dallas . I live in Dallas they are still trying to catch up their freeways like 635 still is a lot of construction.
    I 75 have accidents every day and too small for the demand of traffic. Auto insurance is higher in Dallas over Houston. The exhausting drive is the same in Dallas if you live in Plano and date a girl in Garland that is a 45 minute drive.
    Their are more aggressive drivers in Dallas over Houston. Alternative routes I think Houston is better because you missed a lot of freeway like 225, 249, the highway 90’s the feeder roads that help relieve freeway traffic. There is much you left out. Just my thoughts living in both cities.

  • @ATElevators
    @ATElevators Год назад +4

    could we get worst interstate traffic on the east coast?

  • @blowzo1998
    @blowzo1998 Год назад +2

    Many of the people who moved here from California and find Texas politics objectionable settled in Austin. They aren't big on tolerating the inevitable environmental impact of new roads.

  • @masteroogway2418
    @masteroogway2418 Год назад +7

    Really enjoyed this video, I consider myself an "urbanist" if you will, and you helped show that good transit, cycling, (maybe? walkability) is possible in Texas, if only they can reimagine some of their rights-of-way. The trickiest part is getting the public on-board, which is hard for these types of projects in most of the country. Great job!

    • @Potato_pigeon
      @Potato_pigeon Год назад +1

      Sorry but I’m still not walking/biking 15-20 miles to work while it’s 105 out which might I add is a possibility for 6 months out of the year

  • @scorpionx7044
    @scorpionx7044 11 месяцев назад

    Having lived in all 4 cities I can say you nailed it in this video.

  • @andyasumtneer1978
    @andyasumtneer1978 Год назад +3

    There is an 8 lane arterial (45 MPH speed limit) in Raleigh, NC. Capital Blvd. from I-440 to the split of US 1 and US 401. Absolutely deadly for pedestrians.

    • @keitha.8869
      @keitha.8869 Год назад +1

      Capital Blvd gives me nightmares everytime I drive through it

    • @dwjoseph59
      @dwjoseph59 Год назад +1

      Yes, the raleigh/durham & winston-salem/greensboro metro's both have legendarily bad traffic!! Charlotte is rough too!!

    • @railroadforest30
      @railroadforest30 Год назад

      Yeah hopefully Raleigh will build a commuter rail

  • @TheNotSoOrdinaryCarGuy
    @TheNotSoOrdinaryCarGuy Год назад +1

    In the western cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson and even Salt Lake City to some extent, their local arterials are all pretty much a grid network. In Phoenix almost all of these “major arterials” are located a mile apart and all have six lanes of travel (for the most part). People there refer to them as “min freeways” as people can travel quite fast between the stop lights. They pretty much had to design them this way because for many years they did not want to expand their freeway system and basically didn’t have one for a city of their size.

  • @danmills7084
    @danmills7084 11 месяцев назад +3

    I found this one of the best analysis of Texas traffic comparisons. Excellent information. One category that might be interesting to compare is freeway signage. Living most of my life in Houston and recently moving to DFW I found the freeway signage in DFW worse than Houston. In Houston the signs gave ample warning of upcoming exists where as DFW I found more examples of signage indicating exist 1st time right on top of the exit or bundled together in confusing ways.

  • @WinginWolf
    @WinginWolf Год назад +1

    Lol you went straight for my hometown (Austin), and yea; traffic on 35 is intermittently bad 3 to DAM 7PM!!! And it’s bad at noon too when I commute…
    And yeah, no alternate roads.

  • @mannfan12
    @mannfan12 11 месяцев назад +1

    I live in San Antonio and travel to the other big cities fairly often. You are pretty accurate with regards to the traffic. And yes I avoid Austin at all costs. Its either the 130 bypass or US281 when I travel to DFW. And now that IH35 widening has been completed b/t SA and DFW, its time to widen IH10 b/t SA and Houston.

  • @donavanjohnson409
    @donavanjohnson409 Год назад +3

    Sometimes my hometown has some worst traffic

  • @ChrisBakerauthor
    @ChrisBakerauthor Год назад +2

    The street infrastructure in Austin is also very bad. They are no consistent grids. Austin has many dead-end streets. Streets are off set. Everything is poorly planned and designed.
    Many of the interchanges are also not complete. To go from 183 to 35, for example, you have to go through red lights.
    There is really no excuse for Austin traffic being as bad as it is.

  • @AB365_Official
    @AB365_Official Год назад +4

    San Antonio and Houston have similar highway layouts, but vastly different results. The reason San Antonio has a lack of traffic has to not only do with the highway layout but also with the surface street layout too! If I wanted to get from Ingram Park Mall to Downtown San Antonio, I could either take 410 to 151, 410 to I-10, or Ingram to Bandera via Callaghan. That's three alternate routes between the two! Compare this to Houston which has I-10's worst bottleneck because of TWO PARKS leaving the only option to be expansion and any alternate surface route taking you miles off course from your destination. San Antonio thought ahead and the road layout on ALL levels is pure genius.

    • @PSTXFL
      @PSTXFL Год назад +3

      San Antonio thought ahead? Lol. San Antonio metro isn’t even half of Houston’s.
      But yeah, let’s pave over those parks because that’s good planning.
      smh

    • @Damianoutlaw
      @Damianoutlaw Год назад +4

      Houston 7.5 Million people. San Antonio 2.5 Million people

    • @AB365_Official
      @AB365_Official Год назад

      @@PSTXFL Did you read a single thing I posted? Take a look at how big those parks are and how wide I-10 is there. Notice the correlation?
      Also notice how I didn't mention anything about a METRO. Read next time.

    • @AB365_Official
      @AB365_Official Год назад +2

      @@PSTXFL if I did have to talk about metro transit, Houston has a similar bus system to San Antonio, and while I haven't done my research on said bus system, the only major difference seems to be is a small tram system that's exclusive to the Downtown area and doesn't go outside of 610. It was stated in the video.
      I get it people are clamoring for public transport and walkability but you need to remember we NEED roads, otherwise commerce does not get done.

    • @PSTXFL
      @PSTXFL Год назад

      @@AB365_Official metro population.

  • @ericnewman6523
    @ericnewman6523 Год назад +1

    Austin traffic and I35 is absolutely horrendous. Like he said there is nearly no time of the day you can drive through I35 without heavy traffic, constantly having to slam your brakes and people cutting you off.

  • @Greatest_ever
    @Greatest_ever Год назад +6

    san Antonio traffic isn't bad for how big the population is

    • @mattdajedi
      @mattdajedi Год назад +2

      Its because how sprawling the city is. There are some heavy traffic areas, most notable is the Alamo Ranch area, The RIM/Dominion area, Windcrest/Rittiman area, and during peak Westbound on 410 on the northside is bad. IH-35 in the downtown area can also be bad during peak. As for the southside i dont know nothing about that.

    • @Greatest_ever
      @Greatest_ever Год назад +1

      @@mattdajedi big facts we don't talk about the SS of San Antonio 🤣🤣

  • @markrobertdevison1227
    @markrobertdevison1227 11 месяцев назад

    I've been in every major city in the states. Texas manages traffic much better than most other states. I grew up in SoCal and live in Seattle. It's a breath of fresh air to get back to Dallas/FW area.