In 2016, the Sunshine State became the third most populated state in the United States. And all those people are compacted into a relatively small space.
Even though Florida has more than 50,000 square miles of land, nearly 60 percent of the state’s population lives in less than 5 percent of it. Florida’s residents are packed in and around the state’s thriving metropolitan areas, including Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. No wonder Floridians and visitors are facing clogged roadways!
With these dense populations, commuters paid the price in time. And it wasn’t a matter of a few minutes. Drivers in Orlando and Miami lost an average of 38 hours in 2015. That equates to a mind-blowing total of approximately 269 million hours wasted in traffic. In fact, when it comes to the worst traffic in the United States, South Florida took the 11th spot out of 498 metro areas in 2013 — four notches worse than the year before.
It’s not just all about wasted time — it also comes down to wasted dollars and cents. Across just 439 urban areas throughout the United States, congestion costs reached $101 billion from 2009 through 2010. Florida alone accounted for a whopping $5.6 billion in 2009. Let’s not forget the environmental impact, too. With all this congestion, drivers in Florida wasted 116 million gallons of excess fuel.
It Can’t Just Be the Dense Population, Can It?
If you’re driving in South Florida, you’re facing traffic that is pointedly worse than other parts of the state. Ask any South Florida resident, and bets are good that they’ll tell you South Florida traffic isn’t a laughing matter. The average resident takes one hour and 48 minutes to cover a route that should only take 30 minutes. Yikes!
Sure, the dense population in South Florida plays a huge role, but can it account for it all? If you said no, you’re right. There are other factors that contribute to the state’s aggravating and costly traffic, including:
- Not enough highways: Florida’s state highways account for only 10 percent of the state’s network of roads, yet they carry 54 percent of day-to-day traffic.
- More commuters than the national average: Almost 90 percent of working Floridians used their personal vehicles to get to work every day in 2014. Florida beat the national average by 3.1 percent.
- An increased number of drivers and vehicles: In 2015, the number of people licensed to drive by the state of Florida swelled to 15.6 million, up 1.3 percent from the previous year. Here’s the catch: Although only 7 percent of Florida’s households don’t own vehicles, the total number of registered passenger cars, trucks and motorcycles increased to 13.9 million in 2014, marking a year-to-year increase of 2.5 percent.
- Not enough people using the public transit system: Across the nation, public transit systems provided about 5.2 percent of commuter trips in 2014. Florida’s numbers are even worse. Only 2.1 percent commuter trips in 2014. Here’s the kicker: 79 percent of the state’s population lives less than a mile away from a transit service station!
- Drivers traveling more: The number of vehicle miles Florida drivers racked up during 2014 was up 4.3 percent compared to 2013. Per person, that equated to a 3-percent increase.
- A crazy large number of visitors: In 2014, 98.7 million visitors flocked to the sunshine state, 4.9 percent more than the previous year. That breaks down to one visitor for every five residents. And who blames them? Besides the world-class beaches, Florida is also home to the world’s top tourist destinations, golf resorts, shopping destinations, and unparalleled weather year round.
Let’s face it. Traffic is expensive on state, regional and individual levels. More cars on the roads means increased wear and tear on city streets and highways. It also attacks your wallet. The longer you sit in traffic, the more fuel you waste, without making much forward progress. If you’re late to work, traffic can cost you lost wages or even your job.
While traffic has quantifiable costs, it also has consequences that aren’t as easily measured. One of these consequences is increased stress levels. Want a sure-fire way to increase your stress level? Try sitting in traffic. Better yet, try sitting in traffic when you’re running late for work or a scheduled event.
Avoiding Traffic — It’s Easier Than You’d Think
Whether you’re dealing with Miami traffic or congestion in another part of the state, it may seem like avoiding it is impossible. It’s like the taxes of commuting. Turns out, there are a few tricks to get you out of some traffic jams:
- Identify alternate routes of travel: This one seems like a no-brainer. If the roads you normally use to get to work are frequently bogged down with traffic, take a few minutes to map out alternate routes. Keep in mind that the more widespread a report of traffic becomes, the more likely it is your alternative routes will become busy. Beat these odds by having more than one alternative route.
- Become a traffic-report junkie: If you’re not a traffic-report junkie, now’s the time to convert. Your local news station or traffic-reporting smartphone app can hold the keys to a drastically shorter commute. Like a wise sensei, they can give you the wisdom you need to avoid congested areas. You’ll know where problem spots are before you encounter them. Once you’re on the road, don’t think you’re in the clear. Keep checking the reports, so you can adjust your route as needed. Two good ones to check out are Waze and View2Road. The icing on the cake is that they are free.
- Walking: Of the 5,148 urban, non-limited access centerline miles included as part of Florida’s State Highway System, 64 percent of them have accommodations for pedestrians. If you live near one of these roadways and close enough to your employer, join the 124,000 Floridian workers who walked to and from work regularly in 2014.
- Biking: Floridians are hitting the pavement on two wheels and without a motor at increasingly fast rates — 10.4 percent more over the year before, to be exact. That equates to 64,000 more Floridians taking their bikes to work. And for good reason! Of the nearly 10,000 miles of Florida State Highway System, 74 percent are bike-friendly.
- Using public transportation: In addition to skipping the traffic, you’ll be maximizing your time and decreasing your stress. Instead of fighting through the rat race on the way to work, why not sit back and relax? Let someone else do the heavy lifting.