U.S. cities with lighter traffic
 

I am currently living in metro Atlanta, which holds its title with the third worst traffic in the nation, and sits in first place as the most expensive city to commute in. So with our sweltering summers that necessitate setting the car a.c. at at a high speed, and with our three minute long traffic light wait times and congestion, on top of all of the suburban sprawl, driving around here can be a huge pain in the behind, to put it lightly. Can anybody tell me of any cities where traffic isn't such an aggravating issue?

Certainly not here (chicago), I'd like to know as well, the traffic where I live has become completely out of control, it is a miracle anyone gets anywhere. I haven't driven in awhile (I'm downtown with no car) but I did the other day, I drove in from the burbs to the city during the morning rush hour, and about ripped out my hair, I don't know how people do it everyday without going completely bonkers.

DFW is far worse and the officials have no clue.
M

Cleveland, OH is decent with respect to traffic. Not too huge to navigate; I spent 6 years living on one side of town and having to cross 480 twice a day at rush hour, and it wasn't bad at all...know plenty of people who live in far outlying suburbs & commute across town or into downtown...sure, an accident can bring things to a standstill, but usually thing motor right along.

The downside...you have to live in northeast Ohio. And good luck finding a job in that economy these days.

Buffalo, NY - We moved here from Alexandria, VA and our stress level has plummeted. You can get from any suburb to the city in under 20 minutes.

I think the only cities that don;t have really awful traffic - are the ones that aren't really cities (just technically). Traffic is part of what makes a city.

Austin Texas- we by no means have the lightest traffic in the world, but I lived in Houston for 3 years and it is much better mostly because we are not such a huge metropolis. I know people from L.A. who say that traffic is easy compared to L.A., but I am not sure if that is really saying much.

Austin has the worst traffic and Buffalo does not see the sun for three or more years in a row.
M

I'll kindly take issue with that Buffalo comment - we had several days over 90 degrees this summer. Of course this was abnormal for the region, but normally our summers are very pleasant with temps in the high 70's/low 80's. Plus just because there is snow on the ground doesn't mean that it can't be sunny out...

Rochester, NY -- "Commuting Heaven" compared to other areas. I almost moved to Atlanta last year due to a job transfer, and decided against at the last minute. However I spent quite a bit of time in Atlanta ... Nice area, but what a commuting headache! So much of life ends up revolving around commuting and time in the car, or trying to travel at weird times to beat the rush ... really can affect your quality of life after a while.

We have a "20 minute rule-of-thumb" ... that is it is generally 20 minutes from the suburbs to the downtown area, or to go from one suburb to another.

Even in the winter, the communities are very equipped in snow removal quickly, so the roads are generally clear by the time you're heading off to work (unless it's an exceptionally bad storm that's still hitting during the "rush" hour).

I have to agree with Austin having awful traffic. It's not just the traffic but the drivers in general. It's not unusual to see people doing 50 mph in the middle lane, and merging seems to be a totally foreign concept. I won't even get into all the cell phone usage. And I'm from Florida...I never in a million years would have thought that anything could be worse than the drivers in Florida!

madison, WI (the city in which i went to college) has decent traffic. and great quality of life, all-around.

I lived in Indy for 10 years and though rush hour can be like any other city, for the most part you are at last moving ~ and there are alot of different routes that one can take to get to a final destination. It's a great city and very under-rated.

I just returned from a week long visit and am amazed at what great houses you can buy on large, tree-lined lots for not that much $$.

Another area that I highly recommend and travel to often, are the NW burbs of Milwaukee - traffic moves pretty quickly there also.

Of course, both of these places are in the good ol' midwest - snow, sleet, rain........

Milwaukee is an easy city to get around.

We have good regional theater, lots of interesting restaurants, professional sports, symphony, ballet, a good park system, and Lake Michigan.

Utica, NY.
Topeka, KS
East Podunk
Bumphuk, Egypt

but why, "metalbird", are you planning a no-traffic vacation?????

I recall a columnist in the new yorker once stating that any city worth living is difficult to park in. I'm inclined to agree, but I still hate the traffic.

I was stunned by the lack of traffic in San Diego, even during rush hour. It's weird. There are tons of cars on the interstate but none on the city streets.

rbtravelerx: The real reason I'm seeking a place with lighter traffic is so that I can move there. The maximum length of a traffic light should only be a minute. In Atlanta, the reason so many people run red lights is because it is a three minute wait if you miss them, and it seems like the lights only give you 7 seconds to go through them before turning yellow! I am not justifying running red lights; it is dangerous. But that is why people run them.
Of course vacationing somewhere with light traffic is also a plus! Imagine sitting in traffic just to go to the beach! But I guess Florida is like that sometimes. I was surprised at the amount of cars on the road in St. Augustine. Maybe everybody there drives because it is too hot to ride a bike!

Rather than moving somewhere just because the traffic isn't bad, wouldn't it be better to find a city you love, then set up your life so you live close to your job and the activities you enjoy? Or find a city with great mass transit? I live in Seattle, and people who live far from their jobs constantly complain about the traffic, but I live in a neighborhood with lots of shopping/restaurants, etc, and great bus service to my job downtown, so I don't ever experience the traffic.

After all, if people are going to move to other cities to avoid traffic, yet continue to commute in their cars, you're just making the situation in that city worse.

christy, I'll carry your point one step further. I'm always amazed by people who live outside those traffic laden cities and say "I'd never live in the city, the traffic would get to me". Yet they drive back and forth through it every day when they work in the city. I guess it never sinks in with them that if they lived IN the city, they wouldn't be in all that traffic every day.