Edmonton’s traffic congestion problems could be worse

Commuters are spending more time in traffic congestion across North America, except Edmontonians.

According to the annual 2012 TomTom Congestion Index measuring 59 metropolitan areas across North America, Edmonton is honoured with having the largest decrease in traffic congestion, 6 per cent taking an average of 16 per cent longer for a journey than when traffic is moving freely.

It found Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto remain in the top 10 congested cities in North America.

Toronto ranked sixth overall, where on average journey times are 25 per cent longer than when traffic in the city is flowing freely and 62 per cent longer during evening rush hour. The most congested day was Friday, June 1, 2012, due to flooding and rail system closures on the Toronto subway line.

Vancouver remained Canada’s most congested city, taking the second spot overall and Montreal came in at 10.

On average, journey times in Vancouver are 33 per cent longer than when traffic in the city is flowing freely and 68 per cent longer during evening rush hour. Although ranked 10th overall, Montreal’s evening peak is the third worst across North America, with an average 71 per cent longer commute than when traffic in the city is flowing free.

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TomTom’s Congestion Index is uniquely based on real travel time data captured by vehicles driving the entire road network. TomTom’s traffic database contains more than six trillion data measurements and is growing by five billion measurements every day. The average congestion level for all the North American cities analyzed between July and September 2012 is 18 per cent.

The 10 most congested North American cities, ranked by overall Congestion Level, in 2012 were:

1. Los Angeles (33%)
2. Vancouver (32%)
3. Honolulu (30%)
4. San Francisco (29%)
5. Seattle (26%)
6. Toronto (25%)
7. San Jose (25%)
8. Washington (25%)
9. New Orleans (25%)
10. Montreal (25%)

When used on a large scale, TomTom Traffic has the potential to ease congestion in cities and urban areas by routing drivers away from congested area.

The methodology used in the Congestion Index compares measured travel times during non-congested periods (free flow) with travel times in peak hours. The difference is expressed as a percentage increase in travel time. The Index takes into account local roads, arterials, as well as highways. All data is based on actual GPS based measurements.

TomTom Annual report 2012 measured the North American Congestion Index was an average of 18 per cent, that much longer for a journey then when traffic is moving freely. It found Europe to be 21 per cent, South Africa at 25 per cent and Australia and New Zealand at 27%.

Nick Cohn, Head of TomTom Congestion Research points out that Amsterdam, where TomTom headquarters is located, has a similar traffic congestion index as Edmonton, 17 and 16 per cent respectively. “Both cities worst commutes were occurring on Thursday evenings,” he said.