L. A. has world’s worst traffic congestion

City keeps unenviable title for 6th year in row

U. S. cities dominate the world’s top 10 most- traffic- congested urban areas, with Los Angeles leading in mind- numbing and costly gridlock, according to a new report issued Tuesday.

La La Land, with its jam- packed freeways and driving culture despite billions being poured into rail transit, emerged from the 1,360 other cities in 38 countries to claim the worst- congestion title for the sixth consecutive year in the 2017 traffic scorecard by INRIX, a leader in transportation analytics and connected car services.

Drivers in and around the City of the Angels spent 102 hours battling 2017 congestion during peak hours, INRIX’s 11th annual report said.

Despite having the worst traffic congestion overall, Los Angeles had lower peak period tie- ups than San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and Portland, the INRIX study showed. Nighttime travel also is a bright spot, with Los Angeles city streets ranking better than 35 other cities.

The driving experience in four other U. S. cities isn’t much better, with all finishing in the Top 10 of worst traffic tie- ups:

New York City. Motorists spent 91 hours battling peak hour gridlock. Overall congestion speeds are 7.4 miles per hour, compared with 9.9 miles per hour in Los Angeles and10.5 miles per hour in San Francisco. However, the city’s peak congestion rates on highways came in with lower times than those in the two California cities.

San Francisco. With an average of 79 hours of congestion, the City by the Bay is tied with Boston for the highest- congestion rates on arterial and city streets during peak commute hours. However, San Francisco highways fare better in the peak period than Seattle, Boston, Portland, Los Angeles and six other cities.

Atlanta. There’s no Southern charm when it comes to an average of 70 hours of bumper- to- bumper traffic.

Miami. Despite being knownas a laid- back tourist destination, motorists endure 64 hours of traffic-congestion.

“Congestion is an enormous problem and an enormous cost,” Graham Cookson, the chief economist of INRIX, said in a telephone interview.

Beyond frayed nerves, traffic congestion cost U. S. motorists nearly $ 305 billion in 2017.

That total includes costs such as extra fuel and the value of time lost in traffic, plus indirect costs, including higher delivery spending for goods and services.