Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Big jumps in traffic happening on some Palm Beach County roads

This is why I don't like driving west of I-95. When I do, I usually say I'm packing a lunch. The most recent Palm Beach County traffic counts confirm that there is a positive correlation between traffic and economic recovery. The higher traffic counts also reflect residential developments either re-populating after the recession or coming on line as building resumes again. I was just driving on Glades Road last weekend and there was actually a bike lane along it, between the right-hand lane and the curb. I can't imagine using it. Click title for link to the Sun-Sentinel article.
To the chagrin of commuters, traffic is booming again in southern Palm Beach County.
Long waits at traffic lights and cars chugging along bumper to bumper are back on many roads due to several factors: the end of the Great Recession, new developments being built and even a popular new shopping center in one area.
"You have to plan on an extra half-hour," said Shifra Rosen, who lives in Boca Raton and has seen more cars lined up on roads like Spanish River Boulevard, Federal Highway and Boca Raton Boulevard. "Boca just generally seems to have more traffic."
An annual count is done early in the year when experts think traffic is at its peak. Overall, traffic in Palm Beach County jumped 3.7 percent this year, the highest increase the county has seen since 2004. But many roads in Boca Raton and Delray Beach are seeing much larger increases.