We're on the list of communities with the worst traffic congestion

No one reading this would be surprised to know that metro Orlando is one of the worst commuter cities in the nation.

The ranking appeared in a recent issue of Business Insider.

The Orlando area ranked No. 18., with an average commute time of 29.4 minutes for motorists. Depending on where you live and where you’re headed to work, your commute could be much longer.

South Orange traffic, SunRail upper right

The only Florida community with a worse commute was Miami, ranked No. 17, with an average commute of 29.9 minutes.

Our friends in the Tampa Bay area have a much better commute because it was ranked No. 27, with an average commute of 27.9 minutes.

The Deltona/Daytona Beach area is also among the top 50. It’s ranked No. 50 with an average commute of 25.3 minutes. (This is why we strongly support extending SunRail service to DeLand)

It’s noteworthy that Florida has 7 metro areas listed among the top 50 –also including Jacksonville, Fort Myers, and Winter Haven.

California was the only state with more metro areas on the list – 9.

Why should you worry?

Because time is money. Think about it:

·        People stuck in their cars on the highways, or creeping along at 5 mph on clogged streets are wasting hundreds of dollars every year in fuel costs, wear and tear on their vehicles and more.

·        New businesses offering greater employment opportunities consider traffic when they’re deciding where to expand their operations.

Traffic congestion hurts quality of life. It makes people feel more stressed out. Time sitting in your car bumper to bumper is the time you could have been with your family or working out in the gym.

The traffic situation is not getting any better because alternate transportation options – Lynx and SunRail – are very weak.

For decades our leaders and local governments have failed to invest in these systems.

The investments make a big difference.

Charlotte, N.C. is like metro Orlando in many ways. But the commute is much better there. Charlotte is ranked No. 30, with an average daily commute of 27.3 minutes.

One factor that makes things better in Charlotte is that the community has a much better full-service transit service with an integrated system of light-rail trains and buses.

The light-rail runs 7-days a week and there are about 500 buses in its fleet. By comparison, SunRail runs bakers’ hours on weekdays only and Lynx only has 300 buses.

Osceola County voters recently shot down a proposal to increase sales taxes by one penny to improve transportation. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings recently proposed one penny increase in the sales tax.

Will voters go for it?

Who knows?

Easing traffic and fixing our inadequate public transit services get more expensive the longer we wait.