When is the peak of rush hour?

Started by webny99, February 06, 2018, 09:11:24 AM

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US 89

Depends on what road you pick, but for Salt Lake City, I'd say generally between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning, and between 4:30 and 6:30 in the evening.


webny99

Quote from: Bruce on February 06, 2018, 08:26:59 PM
According to WSDOT's Reliable Travel Times tool, rush hour from Everett to Seattle (rated as the worst in the US) lasts from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the morning and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the evenings.
Quote from: roadguy2 on February 06, 2018, 10:26:27 PM
Depends on what road you pick, but for Salt Lake City, I'd say generally between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning, and between 4:30 and 6:30 in the evening.

Thank you folks, but once again; more specific answers if possible please ;-)
See the OP and reply #15 - perhaps you could describe how it varies throughout that period? Later times in the further suburbs?

hotdogPi

If rush hour lasts four hours, then "rush hour" is a misnomer.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Brandon

Quote from: webny99 on February 06, 2018, 08:41:49 PM
Quote from: Brandon on February 06, 2018, 08:19:13 PM
Chicagoland?  Morning starts at 6:30 am and goes through about 9, followed by the evening starting about 4 pm and going through 6:30.
Reply #15  :pan:

Obviously, you've never been here.  Those are peak hours.  Traffic never really lets up except after 7 pm and before 5 am.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

Rothman

Quote from: Beltway on February 06, 2018, 09:23:47 PM
Quote from: Rothman on February 06, 2018, 08:59:37 PM
Quote from: vdeane on February 06, 2018, 07:05:08 PM
I actually looked at a couple random traffic count stations on I-290 and NY 33 after reading Rothman's comment and they had the traditional morning and afternoon peaks.  I'm guessing that noon peak is specific to some road that is not used for commuting but has lots of places business people go during their lunch break.
Phooey.  Region 5 presented the lack of a rush hour at a meeting I was at out there a few years ago.  Forgot what roads they were looking at, but their point was definitely that Buffalo is unique.

I have encountered substantial congestion on I-90 in the Buffalo area that was in traditional peak periods.  Not used often enough to draw a pattern, but highways I-90 and I-190 and I-290 do get rather congested at times.
I will take the Region 5 data I saw firsthand over anecdotes. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

webny99

Quote from: Brandon on February 07, 2018, 07:31:25 AM
Quote from: webny99 on February 06, 2018, 08:41:49 PM
Quote from: Brandon on February 06, 2018, 08:19:13 PM
Chicagoland?  Morning starts at 6:30 am and goes through about 9, followed by the evening starting about 4 pm and going through 6:30.
Reply #15  :pan:
Obviously, you've never been here.  Those are peak hours.  Traffic never really lets up except after 7 pm and before 5 am.
I have, three times, actually  :-P
The question was not "when does congestion occur"; rather, when is the actual specific peak (at least in your opinion, and possibly backed by AADT hourly counts)?

I'm not denying high levels of congestion at other times, I'm just sure it can be narrowed down to an hour or half hour window. I'm interested to see how it may differ slightly from one metro to the next.

ET21

Quote from: webny99 on February 06, 2018, 08:41:49 PM
Quote from: Brandon on February 06, 2018, 08:19:13 PM
Chicagoland?  Morning starts at 6:30 am and goes through about 9, followed by the evening starting about 4 pm and going through 6:30.
Reply #15  :pan:

7:30am morning, 5:30pm evening with a buffer of 30 minutes earlier or later. Depends on the day and weather conditions
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90

jwolfer

Jacksonville FL has the regular rush hours but there is an early peak at 530am and afternoon peak at 3pm near the Navy Bases.. there a lot of people who work 6a-3p

Z981


Hurricane Rex

Portland: AM: 5-9 AM
PM: 3-7 PM
Vista Ridge Tunnels: 5-11 (AM to PM)
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

vdeane

I did sample a few Buffalo locations on surface streets inside the city and did find a few where the peaks in both directions were in the 3-5 range rather than traditional morning/afternoon.  Wolf Road right here near NYSDOT is the same way most months (because of Colonie Center).  I'm guessing it happens in places where business customers overwhelm commuters.  Didn't see any noon peaks in the Buffalo sites I looked at, but I DID find one on Wolf Road... northbound in December.  Perhaps Buffalo has a greater than average number of roads that fit this criteria?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

webny99

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on February 07, 2018, 11:09:46 AM
Portland: AM: 5-9 AM
PM: 3-7 PM
Vista Ridge Tunnels: 5-11 (AM to PM)
Can you be any more specific?  :pan:
I'm sure we all could have guessed it would be within that range, but once again I'm looking for more specific time frames.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: bzakharin on February 06, 2018, 12:35:40 PM
I'd say 8-8:30 is the morning rush in SW NJ. Evening is somewhere around 5-6. I'm not as sure because I'm seldom on the road during the latter (I leave work at 6 and arrive at 7). Once you get on the Atlantic City Expressway (which I use for work), there's virtually no rush hour, and even less so the further east I go.

You have got to be kidding. I-295, NJ 42 and NJ 55 are jammed as early as 6am some mornings, with congesting upwards of 10 miles in the morning and 14 miles in the afternoon at the greatest congested levels.

Anyway, I'll argue 5:30am to about 9am in the morning rush.  Heck, when I'm out throughout the night, there is a very noticeable uptick in traffic (but still flowing fast and smooth) starting at the very early hour of 4am.

In the afternoon, 295 and Rt. 42 can sometimes start to congest around 2pm.  The main rush is from 3pm to 6:30/7pm. 


hotdogPi

Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 07, 2018, 01:46:41 PM
Quote from: bzakharin on February 06, 2018, 12:35:40 PM
I'd say 8-8:30 is the morning rush in SW NJ. Evening is somewhere around 5-6. I'm not as sure because I'm seldom on the road during the latter (I leave work at 6 and arrive at 7). Once you get on the Atlantic City Expressway (which I use for work), there's virtually no rush hour, and even less so the further east I go.

You have got to be kidding. I-295, NJ 42 and NJ 55 are jammed as early as 6am some mornings, with congesting upwards of 10 miles in the morning and 14 miles in the afternoon at the greatest congested levels.

Anyway, I'll argue 5:30am to about 9am in the morning rush.  Heck, when I'm out throughout the night, there is a very noticeable uptick in traffic (but still flowing fast and smooth) starting at the very early hour of 4am.

In the afternoon, 295 and Rt. 42 can sometimes start to congest around 2pm.  The main rush is from 3pm to 6:30/7pm.

You're missing the point of this thread.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Hurricane Rex

Quote from: webny99 on February 07, 2018, 01:00:37 PM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on February 07, 2018, 11:09:46 AM
Portland: AM: 5-9 AM
PM: 3-7 PM
Vista Ridge Tunnels: 5-11 (AM to PM)
Can you be any more specific?  :pan:
I'm sure we all could have guessed it would be within that range, but once again I'm looking for more specific time frames.

Yes: http://www.oregon.gov/odot/regions/documents/region1/2016_tpr_finalreport.pdf

Also, I don't see why the pan is needed here. All I did was not give enough information.
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

webny99

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on February 07, 2018, 02:50:05 PM
Quote from: webny99 on February 07, 2018, 01:00:37 PM
Can you be any more specific?  :pan:
I don't see why the pan is needed here. All I did was not give enough information.

What is your interpretation of the meaning of the pan?
I use it when I'm giving admonishment, which applied in that situation. You were like the eighth person that I had to say that exact thing to.




Quote from: 1 on February 07, 2018, 02:28:40 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 07, 2018, 01:46:41 PM
I-295, NJ 42 and NJ 55 are jammed as early as 6am some mornings, with congesting upwards of 10 miles in the morning and 14 miles in the afternoon at the greatest congested levels.

Anyway, I'll argue 5:30am to about 9am in the morning rush.  Heck, when I'm out throughout the night, there is a very noticeable uptick in traffic (but still flowing fast and smooth) starting at the very early hour of 4am.

In the afternoon, 295 and Rt. 42 can sometimes start to congest around 2pm.  The main rush is from 3pm to 6:30/7pm.

You're missing the point of this thread.

Right; the point isn't to tell us what we already know (the approximate time frame of most people's commutes). The point is to pinpoint the peak itself as specifically as possible, and then we can discuss, compare, and contrast between different areas.

Hurricane Rex

Quote from: webny99 on February 07, 2018, 03:23:45 PM

What is your interpretation of the meaning of the pan?

Normally something stupid someone does (in this case, looking back, I qualify).
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

webny99

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on February 07, 2018, 03:40:00 PM
Quote from: webny99 on February 07, 2018, 03:23:45 PM
What is your interpretation of the meaning of the pan?
Normally something stupid someone does (in this case, looking back, I qualify).

No offense  ;-)

webny99

Google Maps "typical traffic" function* was very helpful to me in identifying a specific peak. It seems to be around 7:40 in the morning and 5:20 in the afternoon. Although specific locations may deviate from this, on average, that's the worst time to be on the roads.

*Available by using the sidebar to show traffic, and then switching "live traffic" to "typical traffic"

jeffandnicole

Quote from: 1 on February 07, 2018, 02:28:40 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 07, 2018, 01:46:41 PM
Quote from: bzakharin on February 06, 2018, 12:35:40 PM
I'd say 8-8:30 is the morning rush in SW NJ. Evening is somewhere around 5-6. I'm not as sure because I'm seldom on the road during the latter (I leave work at 6 and arrive at 7). Once you get on the Atlantic City Expressway (which I use for work), there's virtually no rush hour, and even less so the further east I go.

You have got to be kidding. I-295, NJ 42 and NJ 55 are jammed as early as 6am some mornings, with congesting upwards of 10 miles in the morning and 14 miles in the afternoon at the greatest congested levels.

Anyway, I'll argue 5:30am to about 9am in the morning rush.  Heck, when I'm out throughout the night, there is a very noticeable uptick in traffic (but still flowing fast and smooth) starting at the very early hour of 4am.

In the afternoon, 295 and Rt. 42 can sometimes start to congest around 2pm.  The main rush is from 3pm to 6:30/7pm.

You're missing the point of this thread.

Now that this reappeared...how am I missing the point?   The region does have rush hours that are 4, 5 hours long.

webny99

Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 06, 2018, 02:49:53 PM
Now that this reappeared...how am I missing the point?   The region does have rush hours that are 4, 5 hours long.

We already know (or could have guessed) that information. I'm looking for answers as specific as possible - down to even 30 or 15 minutes of when the true peak is. Even if there's congestion for extended periods, I'm sure there's still a distinct peak when congestion is the worst.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: webny99 on March 06, 2018, 04:07:20 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 06, 2018, 02:49:53 PM
Now that this reappeared...how am I missing the point?   The region does have rush hours that are 4, 5 hours long.

We already know (or could have guessed) that information. I'm looking for answers as specific as possible - down to even 30 or 15 minutes of when the true peak is. Even if there's congestion for extended periods, I'm sure there's still a distinct peak when congestion is the worst.

So 10 miles of congestion at 4pm doesn't meet the defintion of rush hour because it's 15 miles at 5pm?

I'll remind myself of that right now as I sit in just 12 miles of traffic today.

CtrlAltDel

Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 06, 2018, 04:42:33 PM
So 10 miles of congestion at 4pm doesn't meet the defintion of rush hour because it's 15 miles at 5pm?

It meets the definition of rush hour, but it doesn't meet the definition of peak. That said, having poked around Google Maps a bit, it seems that that peak on the roads you travel is at about 7:30 in the morning and 5:30 in the evening.
Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)

ce929wax

I'll give this a shot.  I don't drive much, but on the few occasions I have been out I have noticed that westbound I-94 gets congested at US-131 between 5 and 6 p.m.  I am not sure about Eastbound, but I am sure it is sometime in the morning.  Gull Road (M-43) has heavy traffic inbound (westbound) usually between 7 and 9 a.m. and outbound (eastbound) between 5 and 6 p.m.  However, I must issue a caveat that Kalamazoo isn't really known for having heavy traffic.  We are a small city.

vdeane

Basically, this thread is pretty poorly titled for what webny99 actually wants.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

webny99

#49
Quote from: vdeane
Basically, this thread is pretty poorly titled for what webny99 actually wants.

I want it to be understandable, too, though.
I've re-titled it, and we'll keep this title unless you had something better in mind  :)

Quote from: jeffandnicole
So 10 miles of congestion at 4pm doesn't meet the defintion of rush hour because it's 15 miles at 5pm?

No - there seems to be confusion between rush and peak, as discussed above. Understandable, given the very general nature of the original title, which I've now updated.



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