New report: Seattle's traffic second worst in nation

The Seattle-Everett area got the official word today that statistically it had the second worst traffic congestion in the nation during 1999 -- behind Los Angeles and just a few percentage points ahead of San Francisco-Oakland.

What the numbers mean locally is that it took 81 percent longer to travel over freeways and major arterials during rush hour than it did during periods when traffic was free-flowing.

NOTE: This story has been updated since it was originally posted.

Put another way, the annual congestion for Seattle-Everett-area commuters added up to 53 hours in delays for the year. In Portland/Vancouver, the annual delay per person was 34 hours (ranked No. 23); in Tacoma it was 27 hours (No. 37) and in Spokane it was 10 hours (No. 58).

TOP 10 CITIES IN THE U.S.
City	а	Annual delay in hours
Los Angeles Seattle-Everett Atlanta Houston Dallas Washington, D.C. Denver Austin St. Louis Orlando	а	56 53 53 50 46 46 45 44 42

"This is not exactly a gold star you would want to put in your crown." King County Executive Ron Sims said this morning. "If we continue like this for two more years, we will have the ultimate badge.ТТ

Sims also recalled Boeing Chief Executive Officer Phil Condit's mention of clogged highways and transportation woes when the company announced plans last month to move its headquarters out of the Seattle area.

"I have been troubled by Mr. ConditТs comments,ТТ Sims said, adding, "We hope to be the home of future generations of Boeing aircraft."

The data, based on traffic volumes, driving times and lane miles, were tabulated by the Texas Transportation Institute for the nation's 68 largest metropolitan areas.

"It's not going to surprise anyone," said Rick Olson, a spokesman for the Puget Regional Council, a planning agency. "No matter how you cut it, congestion here is bad and it's getting worse."

The institute, based at Texas A & M University, also found that the average cost of congestion in lost wages and wasted fuel for the Seattle-Everett area driver was an average of $930 in 1999, second only to Los Angeles, where it was $1,000. The average in No. 3 Atlanta was $915.

The Seattle-Everett area has been near the top of the institute's charts on congestion for the past few years. The last survey done on driving time differences between rush hour and normal driving periods was in 1997, and it also showed the Seattle-Everett metropolitan area was second to Los Angeles.

But a senior planner with the Puget Sound Regional Council, Larry Blain, says the institute's assumptions might be flawed because some highway systems are able to move more vehicles per highway lane mile during congested periods thanks to such devices as ramp meters and information signs.

Also, he said, the institute's rankings do not take into consideration the differences of urban areas and the location of freeways.

In the New York City area, for instance, "there are more freeways in the outlying suburbs and these might tend to be more free-running (less congested) ," Blain said.

The New York City-northeast New Jersey area ranked sixth when comparing rush-hour travel with non-rush hours periods.

"What it means to me is something very simple and you don't need a survey to know it," said the state's new transportation secretary, Doug MacDonald.

"And it is not going to get any better until we get going with the major projects that have to be done."

Last week, Gov. Gary Locke presented the Legislature with a $17 billion transportation improvement tax plan to do just that, along with subsidizing mass transit.

The 10-year plan would increase the gas tax by 7 cents per gallon and impose a sales tax on vehicle purchases.

Will Seattle-Evertt area's continued high congestion ranking convince the Legislature that it must act?

"They've already been hearing about it," said MacDonald.

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