Traffic
 

Over the weekend my wife and I made a trip to Hartford. I guess I have been living in the Lakes Region long enough so that I have forgotten what city traffic is all about, and we stayed on I-84 as long as possible before diving down into West Hartford. Even a bad traffic day in the Lakes Region is a piece of cake compared to Saturday afternoon in West Hartford, and Saturday afternoon isn't even close to being commuter traffic!! Returning Sunday afternoon was calming, and I look forward to a few months of relative "traffic-peace" before the summer drivers arrive.

Traffic
 

Come out to California and ride the freeways. It is either wide open or almost closed. Similar to the Southeast Expressway in Boston. Just remember to relax, give yourself extra time and watch out for those involved in road rage. I-95 in Conn. can be a real bear also.

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I am a retired workaholic and coniinuing aquaholic

I am certain that living here has made me more traffic averse.

A recent week down in Tampa/StPete reminded me of this daily.

I was thinking exactly this today while driving through my old hometown of Dracut, MA.

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Yeah, I live in Connecticut and Hartford is horrible for traffic most days. Forget about 4-6pm on weekdays. And there are really no bypasses or ways around it that would be faster. Most trips usually involve scheduling our jump off time to make sure that we don't go thru Hartford during peak time.

As a new retiree I finally feel free from traffic gridlock. I use to travel North on Fridays after work and return on Sunday nights. Now I can avoid peak driving times.

I traveled daily for years to Alewife taking 128, 93 or RT 1. What a bear! And it's worse than ever now. Our weekly (weekday) trip to the lake, in season is a piece of cake.

Sitting in a jam up on the highway is no fun but being stuck behind a truck or leaf peeper on a winding road seems worse to me because you can personalize the cause plus there is never anyone coming the other way except when you get to a passing zone.

Last year's cross-country drive....
 

In the spring of 2019, I drove from San Francisco to Meredith.

Without any doubt, the worse traffic I encountered was in Connecticut.

I promised myself, every few minutes, to never drive through Connecticut again.

Driving 90 mph through western Maryland I stayed in the "slow lane" so those travelling much "faster" could pass.

It's a very large country.

Drive into Boston
 

My wife and I drove into Boston a couple of weeks ago on a Monday for a 10am appointment. We left just after 630am and sailed down the Spaulding and I95 at 65mph+, until rte 1 cuts off I95 in Saugus. Got to that area around 8am. Pulled into the parking garage in the Brigham's area at 918!

I seriously have no idea how people drive that traffic on a daily basis. Thank goodness we allowed ourselves an abundance of additional time.

Dave

Culture shock!
 

This thread rings a bell. My retired parents stayed in Alton Bay from May - October for 30 years. Every fall when they returned to northern NJ, my Dad would need about a month to get over the shock of having to drive in NJ again. He lives about 3 miles from the GW Bridge near the northern end of the NJ Turnpike. Traffic here is horrendous any time of day! I can't wait to relocate to NH year round, but I can't convince my folks to move at age 90.

Gary
 

Driving from San Francisco to the lake going through Maryland? Wouldn't it make more sense to take the northern route , NY Thruway, Mass Turnpike, then to the lake.
I drive to Burbank via PA, down to St. Louis then I-44 and I-40 to I-15 to the I_210. I-15 can be real fun as I reach there on Saturday and every idiot is driving 90+ changing lanes every third car to make their own road. It can be dangerous. I really feel for the motorcycles since these people don't even look so they never see a cycle sitting beside them. I fortunately am in no hurry, just arrive safe.

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I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

Friendly Boston Drivers
 

I'm anxiously awaiting driverless cars in Boston so all us friendly folks can wave with both hands.
Rules when I was driving a delivery van in Boston
1. One hand always ready on the horn
2. A delivery van with dents always has the right of way
3. Mass red light rules apply
a. third car is allowed after light turns from yellow to red
b. look for cops, then go
4. Never get behind a Buick
5. Be friendly, wave back

Now, I love the folks at Silver Chariot who drive when I go to Boston, and I never have to look for a parking space.

When I was a kid our drive every year to Winnipesaukee was from Pittsburgh, PA. After the first year or two we basically would redo the route completely to avoid Connecticut because it was never anything more than a mess of traffic.

Traffic is light in Boston in Feb. It's a busy vacation month. Any other time you would have hit double the traffic.[emoji45]

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Not a vacation week
 

This was the Monday of the Boat Show, a week before any school vacation weeks started.

Biggd, I'm glad we took 95 down rather than 93, because we see Boston traffic reports and traffic delays can be horrendous from 495 to the Zakim. Plus that route has 4 lanes of idiots rather than 3 on rte 1.;)

Dave

I took a specific road I've been wanting to drive...Rt.50. 80 would have been more direct, but boring!

I can remember oh 50-60yrs ago on RT95 almost every town in Connecticut was allowed to post a toll booth. Dad would barely get the belair up to speed, then slow for the next $.25 toll. Things are better.

There was (maybe still is) a highway in Northern NJ that was the same. Used to have to go there on business and never seemed to get out of 2nd gear before the next toll booth.


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As a kid the annual pilgrimage to NH from NJ was a 6 1/2 hr. ride. But Connecticut seemed to be the humongous state to travel thru, as perceived through my young brain. But guess where I live today? Ugh, that’s right, CT.


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Just think how light the traffic would be if commuters from NH & ME could find work in those states and not have to drive into Boston? And while we are at it, why aren’t there tolls on 95, 93, and 3 on the MA side of the border?


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Try owning a fleet of 50+ trucks trying to make deliveries of a perishable product (ready mix concrete) in NYC. I always said making any type of concrete needed for any project was the easy part. The logistics of getting the concrete there was a different story.

I actually lost a very large 25,000 cubic yard high rise project in midtown Manhattan because we were doing a large poor and couldn't get the concrete to the site because someone committed suicide outside the Battery Tunnel and it was closed for 3 hours

I have always wondered why tolls are allowed anywhere on the interstate highway system. State tolls should be limited to state roads.

OMG, I so remember that. Seems like it was every 5 miles.

What? Another Toll?
 

The Garden State Parkway in northern New Jersey had toll plazas quite close to one another. 💰 💰 💰 💰 💰 💰

Changed made
 

Correct, Barney Bear. Too many toll booths too close together on the GSParkway. I live right off Exit 157. They have improved the spacing by eliminating half the toll booths but doubling the tolls. The northern most tolls in Hillsdale Exit 168 now only operate on the southbound side & costs $1.50 and the next toll below that in Saddle Brook Exit 160 is for northbound only You used to have to stop at both Exits 168 and 160 but pay 75¢. In several locations like Hillsdale and the Driscoll Bridge Exit 123, they have installed high speed lanes so there is no stopping if you have EZ Pass.

The toll booths were on highways regulated by the state and Federal Government. The towns did not and could not have their own toll booths. At one time there were 8 toll booths on route 95 in CT.

Unlike toll roads in other states where revenues collected were legally required to be kept within the toll road authority and used to finance the facility's construction and upkeep, toll revenues from the Connecticut Turnpike were placed into the state's general fund and used for highway and non-highway expenditures alike.

On January 19, 1983 a semi-truck full of potatoes barreled into a line of cars waiting to pay the toll at the Stratford toll booth. There was an explosion and huge fire. Seven women and children were killed, most burned beyond recognition.

Subsequent to that incident the tool booths were removed.

Connecticut''s "Big Dig" headlines, 2017:

Although the long thread devolved into favorite restaurants featuring NYC foods, here it is again:
https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...ad.php?t=22699

To Wallingsford from Lakes Region
 

We always take 91 from Brattleboro straight to Wallingsford. Avoid the 495, 90, 84 nightmare.

100 Years from now...
 

Can we imagine what the traffic will be like then?

Could anyone 100 years ago imagine the traffic today?

The cars look different!

Traffic
 

I used to live in western Ct. I remember driving on I-84 east of Hartford when it was a two lane road back in 65. I also drove on I-495 the week it opened. I drove from I-93 to Rte 20 and didn't see a car either direction. It didn't hook up to I-90 at the time.

100 years from now
 

I see driverless cars, probably with no ground contact either. No accidents, no road rage and smooth flow at 150 kph. With no ground contact, no road wear and tear, no snowplow hold ups and no road salt into our water table. Fire trucks will still be red. They will still need the dog to find the hydrant.

Getting to 91 is the problem
 

I tried using 91 on my trip back to NJ. The problem was getting to 91 from Alton was a nightmare. I took Route 89 to 9, no problem, but from there on it was terrible. I was stuck behind 2 tanker trucks on a wet dreary, February day. I used up my windshield washer fluid, and every time I got to a passing zone there were cars coming eastbound so I couldn't pass. The trip took 30 minutes longer and added almost 20 miles to my usual 305 mile trip.

I can't wait for driverless cars. I could see myself taking a nap on a long ride. :D

Unusual
 

We traveled from Alton to the Albany area before moving here. Seldom did we run into a problem as you describe. Coming this way, we would hit Brattleboro around 8pm, and get to Alton around 10. Heading the other way, we would leave here around sundown on a clear day, meaning in the evening, to avoid the solar glare. Traffic was generally light, and we didn't have much of a problem with semis. We loved the ride.

Dave

Before we moved here- which was just a month ago- we traveled up from NY to see our son in Plymouth and also for some vacations. Even though the GPS always wanted us to take 84 through Connecticut we refused and would head up the Thruway to the Mass Tpke and then to 91 and cut across NH various ways. Anything to avoid 84. And we also have done Albany/Troy through the Green Mountain National Forest and Brattleboro and to 91.

Would rather add a 1/2 hour to an hour onto the trip- and some beautiful scenery- then go through that.

Anyway, no matter now. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that we most likely will never be traveling that direction again.