Chicago Among Worst Cities For Traffic Congestion

CHICAGO, IL — Traffic stinks. There’s no two ways about it. It’s a drain on the economy — to the tune of billions of dollars in costs — and a huge time-suck. It can also affect your mental health. But a new report shows drivers in some cities spend much more time staring at brake lights than others. Chicago is one of them, unfortunately.

The company INRIX Research released its 2018 “Global Traffic Scorecard” rankings Tuesday, finding that congestion is an “indiscriminate global phenomenon” that is dramatically affected by population, economy, infrastructure and the popularity of ride-hailing and delivery services.

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Chicago ranked as the third most impacted city in the country when it comes to traffic congestion, saying we've got heavier traffic than both New York and Los Angeles. Drivers in our city lose up to 138 hours per year in traffic.

Chicago's No. 3 ranking is worse than last year, when the city ranked No. 8.

Ranked as the two cities most affected by traffic congestion were Boston and Washington, D.C. Drivers in those cities lose up to 164 and 155 hours in traffic a year, respectively, the study found. That means drivers are lined up behind someone else’s bumper more than 15 hours per year more than the next worst cities, in terms of total hours. Here are the 10 cities with the worst congestion and how many hours they lose to traffic per year.

1. Boston, 164
2. Washington, D.C., 155
3. Chicago, 138
4. New York City, 133
5. Los Angeles, 128
6. Seattle, 138
7. Pittsburgh, 127
8. San Francisco, 116
9. Philadelphia, 112
10. Portland, Oregon, 116

Nationwide, drivers lose 97 hours in congestion, the authors wrote. That costs Americans $87 billion a year in time, an average of $1,348 per driver.

The report notably does not reflect the impact of the time loss for people of different incomes. So cities with a “robust” public transit system — like Boston — could provide an alternative means of transportation for lower-income households.

“In contrast, in a city like Houston (up to $1,365), many households depend on driving, which is more expensive on a per mile basis. Determining the true impacts of congestion is dependent upon a city’s unique economic profile and commute trends.”

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)