RIDE-CT – Classic Cars Celebrating Classic Cars in Connecticut
If you’ve ever been caught up in a traffic snarl during busy times on I-84 or I-95 in cities such as Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford or Waterbury, you may think that congestion in Connecticut is worse than almost anywhere else.
That is, unless you’ve traveled to other places in the United States (or outside the country) and witnessed what bad traffic is truly like. In fact, an argument can be made that drivers in Connecticut have it easy when compared to their counterparts in dozens of other cities here and abroad.
Results of a new study issued this week by data collector and analyst INRIX reveal that no Connecticut city ranks in the Top 50 of the nearly 950 metropolitan areas in 36 countries worldwide that are included in the report.
Stamford Most Congested in CT
The most congested city in Connecticut – and it doesn’t show up until #63 – is Stamford, which follows Tijuana, Mexico (#62) and is ahead of Sydney, Australia (#64).
Eight other CT municipalities appear in INRIX’s results, and all are far down the list. New Haven comes in at #278, with Danbury at #315, Hartford at #328, Bridgeport at #457, Derby at #740, Meriden at #745, New London at #800 and Waterbury at #802. That’s out of 941 cities.
Other U.S. Cities Make Top 10
The U.S. does have four of the Top 10 congested cities globally. Ranked #1 is Istanbul, Turkey, followed by Mexico City. Chicago comes in third place and is the worst place to drive in the U.S., followed by New York City at #4 and Philadelphia at #5.
Rounding out the Top 10 markets in terms of congestion are Cape Town, South Africa, followed by London, Paris, Jakarta in Indonesia and Los Angeles. Boston (#12), Miami (#15), Atlanta (#16), Houston (#18) and Washington, D.C. (#19) make it into the Top 20.
INRIX’s study also provided a breakdown of how cities here at home rank congestion-wise.
Stamford ranks #17 with 53 hours being lost annually to congestion at a cost $976 per driver. New Haven ranks #49 nationally with Danbury at #60. They are followed by Hartford at #66, Bridgeport at #102, New London at #217 and Waterbury at #219.
Given the worldwide and national numbers, Connecticut drivers should perhaps feel fortunate that we live here and have as little traffic as we do, although any tie-up can certainly be irritating.
(Photos by Bud Wilkinson.)
