NY ranks fourth in traffic report
If you’ve ever tried to drive away from New York for the weekend – or even to Ikea – this won’t surprise you: New York recently ranked fourth in the U.S. for worst traffic.
The annual Urban Mobility Report, which reports congestion problems, showed the New York and Newark area in the fourth slot.
Drivers in the city spent 59 hours on average sitting in traffic in 2011, senior research engineer Tim Lomax said.
The report reveals Washington, D.C., as leading with the worst congestion, followed by Los Angeles and San Francisco before NYC.
Because of travel congestion, Americans purchased an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel, according to the report, as well as spent an extra 5.5 billion hours more traveling.
Also, in a finding that may be familiar to many New Yorkers, for important trips, travelers had to allow for 60 minutes for a trip that should usually take 20 minutes, according to the report.
