HOUSTON DOESN’T CATCH A BRAKE ON CONGESTION LEVEL

While many parts of the nation are enjoying a slight respite in time lost in traffic, Houston is not, says the 2009 Urban Mobility Report. Among the solutions it proposes? Increased use of public transit.

Urban travelers spent one hour less in peak-hour traffic and burned one gallon less of gasoline in 2007 than the year before, according to the annual congestion report published by Texas A&M University’s Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). But Houston drivers continued to clock long hours behind the wheel.

The 2009 report includes traffic patterns from 439 U.S. urban areas spanning 25 years, from 1982 to 2007.

Researchers attribute the break in traffic wait time to rising gasoline prices in the last half of 2007, adding that the recession also plays a role. When the economy bounces back, traffic problems will do the same.

Experts indicate that the economic slump has not hit Houston as hard, therefore congestion levels saw no change from 2006.

The Space City ranked fourth in the study of cities with the worst traffic delays. In 2007, Houston drivers spent an average of 56 hours stuck in rush-hour traffic and wasted some 40 gallons of gasoline in the process. This translates to $1,112 per traveler – and that’s just congestion costs for peak-hour travel.

The report outlines strategies to help fix the nation’s traffic woes. Mass transit is part of the solution.  It credits public transportation with reducing traffic delays by 646 million hours and saving some 398 million gallons of fuel in 2007. Without public transit, congestion costs would have increased by another 16 percent.

Houston continues to experience unprecedented growth, which will only compound our traffic problem. Mass transit can help bring those numbers down significantly.

METRO is currently expanding its light-rail system and enhancing its bus service to help meet the traveling public’s needs.