Traffic

Took a long time to get through traffic this early evening.  This made me wonder why.  It has been a pattern lately, so this required a little study.

Just before 9/11, my last delivery of the day took place at Hobby Airport, which is a little southeast of downtown.  I could get home consistently in about 35 minutes.  Now, such a trip would take close to an hour, I estimate.  What could have possibly made such a big difference?  Has Houston's population grown that much?  I had thought that it didn't.

As a matter of fact, Houston proper hasn't really grown all that much in the last 30 years.  However, in just the last 20 years, nearly 2 million new residents have made the metro area their home.  I think that is what is driving all this traffic.  People have moved to the outlying regions and are commuting into town.  This is clogging up the freeways and making the traffic much worse.

As what has been the case through much of its most modern history, Houston's growth is outpacing its ability to keep up.  Despite all of the extra freeway lanes and such, they still get too crowded.

More freeways, or more  mass transit?  Or both, perhaps.

Another thing this town could use is a rebuilding of its streets.  The streets are in poor shape in too many places.