Top 10 Congested Cities

Congestion has always been a problem in the United States, where every family owns a vehicle, but along with it faces the problem of getting stuck in the numerous traffic snarls, through out the day. When people get stuck in severe traffic snarls, minutes just turn into hours and then change into days. It is said that the vehicular population in the nation has increased seven times faster than the human population, since the year 1960, which is considered to be the main factor in the rise of congestion. There are many places in the United States that can be classified as the most congested cities of the world. The most congested city is said to be Los Angeles, followed by San Francisco and Denver. The next few congested cities as per the survey are Miami, Phoenix, Chicago, San Jose, Washington, Portland and Boston. These cities are considered to be the worst congested cities in the United States. However, it has been observed that in spite of such delays the commuting public has not changed the driving habits, and driving has continued and the congestion is getting worse.

Congestion in the busy cities has always been a cause of concern. It causes a huge wastage of time of the trucks as well as the passenger cars, along with the hazards of environmental pollution. The average commuter usually is said to spend an entire week in a year in the numerous traffic snarls around the cities. It causes a huge wastage in terms of cost of time of an average human being. Statistics say that an annual delay in excess of 47 hours per driver can cause wastage of 2.3 gallons of fuel every year. As per the figures of 2003, the loss due to traffic delays is almost $631 billion in a year. Besides the loss caused due to time and money there are ill effects that are associated with health and social hazards. In areas, where there is more traffic there is also a high risk of the different road fatalities. Pollution increases as vehicles remain stranded for hours, along with stress in the minds of commuters to reach their destinations on time. Traffic congestions causes delays in family gatherings, working hours are lost and also wears down people physically.

Traffic Congestion has always been a major cause of concern for the different authorities. The highways that connect major cities with airports, tourist destinations and suburban populations are the worst affected. A question often arises that whether the problem can be ever solved. Can the traffic be free moving ever? It may be possible perhaps, but it shall take time and some meticulous planning on part of the authorities, along with different political agreements and also commitments. It shall never be possible to build in additional bridges and highways, to keep up the demand. If a little awareness is created among the commuters, so that shared driving is introduced in the different malls and offices, traffic congestion can be reduced to a certain extent. If certain areas are avoided at certain times of the day, that too shall have an effect on the vehicular flow in a particular region.