Worse traffic BR or New Orleans? (Baton Rouge, St. Francisville: college, living, moving)

[brock2010]

I've been stuck in Baton Rouge traffic many times. Never been to New Orleans. Just wondering is New Orleans rush hour just as bad, better or worse?

[Lizap]

The traffic in BR got worse than NOLA after Katrina.

[Rosinante]

It should come as no shock, but Baton Rouge is ranked third-worst among mid-sized cities on the impact traffic congestions has on commuters, according to the latest Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

The article in theBaton Rouge Business Report from which the above is quoted appeared in their most recent weekly issue.

Of course, for those of us who've lived here all our lives, we know that the bad traffic existed long before Katrina.

[Tom Lennox 70]

I think New Orleans has worse traffic overall but Baton Rouge has worse traffic per capita. I read BR has the worst traffic for a city its size, and for the population to traffic ratio its in fact worse than Los Angeles and Chicago. We do need another Mississippi River crossing and Interstate 12 needs to be 6 lanes in its entirety. Bobby Jindal really should be commended for getting the funding to widen it in Livingston Parish, I do think the Amite River bridge should be named after him.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

I think New Orleans has worse traffic overall but Baton Rouge has worse traffic per capita. I read BR has the worst traffic for a city its size, and for the population to traffic ratio its in fact worse than Los Angeles and Chicago. We do need another Mississippi River crossing and Interstate 12 needs to be 6 lanes in its entirety. Bobby Jindal really should be commended for getting the funding to widen it in Livingston Parish, I do think the Amite River bridge should be named after him.

New Orleans rush hour traffic is a joke compared to BR.
What has the widening done for Livingston? Or the widening of I-10? Traffic is the same.

[Need4Camaro]

Cant speak for NOLA but the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi is a total PITA. Especially during holidays.

[Rosinante]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

New Orleans rush hour traffic is a joke compared to BR.
What has the widening done for Livingston? Or the widening of I-10? Traffic is the same.

And to think I escaped the DC traffic in 1969 only to end up in BR 10 years later. Even then, in late 1979, I could not believe that a city—much smaller then, you'll remember—this size could have such problems. I dreaded going to the Post Office just off College Drive at I-10 where I kept a business PO Box.

Not addressed here is that Baton Rouge also ranks very high in the nation for hit-and-run accidents. We all know why this is, but if you are an onlooker from somewhere else, that's because Louisiana ranks so high in the number of uninsured drivers...unlicensed ones too.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by Rosinante

And to think I escaped the DC traffic in 1969 only to end up in BR 10 years later. Even then, in late 1979, I could not believe that a city—much smaller then, you'll remember—this size could have such problems. I dreaded going to the Post Office just off College Drive at I-10 where I kept a business PO Box.

Not addressed here is that Baton Rouge also ranks very high in the nation for hit-and-run accidents. We all know why this is, but if you are an onlooker from somewhere else, that's because Louisiana ranks so high in the number of uninsured drivers...unlicensed ones too.

BR isn't as bad as the DC area but there are definitely certain bad spots. I'm very glad that I-12 was widened through most of Livingston Parish, it needs to be widened in its entirety. And we need a third bridge across the Mississippi River.

I really hate how it can take 15 minutes to get on the Interstate from the Range exit in Denham because of the Pilot truck stop and how they control the traffic lights. But usually going to work in the city in the mornings, there are other routes like Florida Boulevard or Choctaw Drive that avoids the Interstate. In more rural areas of the metro area like Port Vincent or the outlying parts of Denham or Prairieville you do have a lot of two lane roads where you can be stuck behind an idiot driving 10 miles below the speed limit too.

One thing I do notice about Louisiana drivers is that there is nothing consistent. It's not New Jersey where everyone drives fast and aggressively or like West Virginia where everyone drives slow and courteously. You have super speeders here who tailgate you when you are already going above the speed limit, and they would pass you doing 80 or more. And you have people who drive 10 miles below the speed limit. I've also seen drag racers on Florida Boulevard, Airline Highway and all 3 Interstates.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Also one thing that I HATE about Baton Rouge is the train tracks that cross major roads like Airline Highway and US 61 and it can take over 15 minutes for a slow moving train to pass if you're stuck behind it. There really shouldn't be at grade railroad crossings someplace like Airline or US 61 by St. Francisville. There either should be an overpass for the train or road traffic, or they need to schedule the trains to avoid rush hour.