Surviving D.C. Traffic

January 31st, 2011 // filed under: Charles County, MD, Southern Maryland, Waldorf

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I can’t remember a time when traffic in the Washington, D.C. area was ever considered pleasant.  Commuters have grumbled for decades about the over-stuffed roads and lengthy commutes, and we now have the dubious distinction of being ranked as the worst traffic congestion in the country (Tied with Chicago, IL).

Unfortunately, most of Waldorf Maryland‘s residents brave the trek into D.C. daily, sitting for endless hours each year as they suffer the long commute.

I was a little surprised to read that D.C. commutes are considered WORSE than Los Angeles, which has been considered the gold standard for lousy commutes for many years now.  Is it really possible that D.C. is that bad when it comes to driving to work?  Last week I think that was answered pretty definitively, with the sudden heavy snow, and some commuters taking as much as 12 hours to make it home on the un-plowed roads.

Stressful commutes have come to be expected for us in this region.  What would we be without 2+ hour commutes, highways treated like the Autobahn, and people losing all ability to drive when the first snowflake hits the ground?  Love it or hate it, it’s a staple of the region.  While the option exists to take commuter buses in and out of D.C., and those fortunate enough to live near a Metro station are spared SOME of the madness, it’s painfully obvious just how under-served transit options really are.

Metro service to our region is unlikely, at best, and light rail transit is still at least a decade away.  If it’s not obvious to you already, I’m not sure what else can be done to underscore the need to find a better way to get in and out of D.C. on a daily basis.  We NEED a better transit infrastructure, and we need it now.

Do you commute to D.C. from Southern Maryland?  If so, I’d love to hear how long your commute takes you each day and how far you travel.  Better yet, do you take a mass transit option in daily?  What do you think the best way to commute to D.C. is?  Leave your comments below!

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posted by Jonathan Benya // 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Monday, January 31st, 2011 at 4:11 am and is filed under Charles County, MD, Southern Maryland, Waldorf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  1. Liz Benitez said at February 4th, 2011 at 11:58 am

    My husband takes the commuter bus every day. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get home. His work pays for transit on the metro rail but It doesn’t come down this far so the bus ticket comes out of our pocket. I really wish they would take the metro down south some more.

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