Why is Houston's traffic congestion so bad?

The Chronicle asks the question (as if Houston's traffic was ever "good"):

Every day, Houstonians commute to and from the growing suburbs that surround downtown. It's no secret that traffic congestion will play a significant part in most if not all commutes.

But, as one Chronicle reporter who wrote about her first experiences with Houston traffic wrote, even though every city complains about its traffic, Houston's traffic seems worse.

So why is Houston's traffic so bad?

Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Scientist David Schrank explains that motorist perceptions of traffic are relative: "(w)hat we don't know as motorists is that we are actually going six, seven miles an hour faster than we were a few years ago," he says. 

Schrank identifies three main reasons for Houston's traffic gridlock: construction projects that cause unexpected disruption to motorists' commutes, rapid growth that strains the region's roadway network with new people as well as the goods and services needed to support them, and changes to traffic patterns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery:

Now, as commuters continue to switch to hybrid work environments, not only does traffic congestion increase but the variability of what days commuters go to work causes even more congestion, Schrank said.

"For example, Monday traffic is not nearly as bad as what Monday traffic used to be," Schrank said. "A lot of workers use Mondays as their work-from-home days, and what we're seeing is Tuesday through Thursday have taken more of the brunt of traffic."

Hybrid work also creates a situation where some people work from home in the morning and go into the office later in the day, or are summoned into the office for face-to-face meetings on days when they would normally work from home.

This creates what Schrank called "trip volatility" and it ultimately adds more time to commutes.

On top of that, the pandemic has created a bigger culture of food and package delivery that also creates traffic congestion, Schrank said.

The data on how much pandemic restrictions being lifted has affected traffic is still being built.

To Schrank's three reasons for congestion I'd also add a fourth: the city's legions of poor and/or reckless drivers that cause accidents that routinely snarl the city's freeways; unlike other causes of congestion, accidents have the potential to cause travel to come to a full and complete stop. A recent study has identified Texas as having the worst drivers in the nation, and the number of fatal traffic crashes in Houston has increased since the beginning of the pandemic.

Unfortunately, traffic congestion is simply a part of Houston life. If you can avoid it, by changing the times or routes you drive, teleworking, walking or bicycling, or using public transportation, great. But for most people in this sprawling, automobile-oriented city, that's simply not an option. 

The standard advice to commuters applies: give yourself plenty of time to get there, put on some relaxing music or an interesting podcast to listen to while you drive, and be courteous to your fellow drivers. After all, they're trying to get to work in one piece, just like you.