Bay Area Freeways Record Third Straight Year of Reduced Congestion in 2003
Regional Freeway Delay Declined by 18 Percent From 2002 Level
OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 6 -- Traffic on Bay Area freeways flowed more freely in 2003 than in any year since 1998, according to the latest congestion-monitoring data compiled by Caltrans and released today by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). Underscoring both the impact of freeway improvement projects and the lingering sluggishness of the Bay Area economy at that time, the daily number of vehicle hours of delay due to congestion in the nine-county region dropped by 18 percent in 2003, after a 5 percent dip in 2002 and a 12 percent decline in 2001. Among the "Top 10" list of Bay Area congestion hot spots, the morning commute along westbound Interstate 80 from Hercules to the Bay Bridge retained its longtime hold on the top spot in 2003 with an average 6,570 daily vehicle hours of delay.
The congestion statistics are part of the Bay Area Transportation: State of the System 2004 project spearheaded by MTC and Caltrans District 4. This annual initiative tracks the performance of the region's transportation system and the condition of its facilities. In addition to freeway congestion, the 2004 State of the System effort also has produced updated information on local roadway, transit and bicycle travel, as well as air travel and goods movement.
The overall decline in congestion also was marked by a shakeup in the annual list of the Bay Area's top 10 traffic hot spots (see Figure 1 below). While the morning slog to the Bay Bridge on Interstate 80 remained the region's most notorious congestion location in 2003, three afternoon commutes moved into the top 10 for the first time. These include southbound U.S. 101 from University Avenue in Palo Alto/East Palo Alto to Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View (number 7); eastbound State Route 24 from Interstate 580 to the Caldecott Tunnel in Oakland (number 8); and eastbound Interstate 580 east of Livermore to Greenville Road (number 10). Three of the Bay Area's 10 worst congestion locations are now along Interstate 580 in eastern Alameda County, including the eastbound afternoon drive from Hopyard Road to El Charro Road and the westbound morning commute from North Flynn Road to Airway Boulevard (tied for number 3 with 4,320 vehicle hours of delay) as well as the afternoon approach to the Altamont Pass.
All three locations that fell off the top 10 list in 2003 were morning commutes into the Silicon Valley. These include southbound Interstate 680 over the Sunol Grade (which ranked number 8 in 2002 and among the top three from 1998 to 2001); westbound State Route 84 from Newark Boulevard to the Dumbarton Bridge toll plaza (previously number 10); and southbound Interstate 880 from Thornton Avenue to Dixon Landing Road (previously number 2). Delays in these sections likely were reduced not only by the economic chill in the South Bay, but also by several new freeway projects that came on line in late 2002 or early 2003. Among these improvements are the high-occupancy vehicle lane that opened on southbound Interstate 680 in December 2002; the November 2002 widening of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, which attracted westbound motorists who previously crossed the Dumbarton Bridge; and the reconstruction of the Interstate 880/ Dixon Landing Road interchange near the Alameda/Santa Clara County line.
Regionwide, the congestion data show that vehicles typically spent 121,800 hours per weekday in congested conditions (defined as average speeds below 35 miles per hour for 15 minutes or longer) on Bay Area freeways in 2003. This is far below the 177,600 hours per day recorded in 2000 at the height of the region's technology-charged economic boom.
"These figures present a snapshot of where we were in 2003, not necessarily where we are today," cautioned MTC Chair and Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey. "But it's clear that freer-flowing freeways are largely a byproduct of reduced economic activity." Noting that recent growth in the Bay Area economy has been accompanied by anecdotal reports of increased traffic, Kinsey surmised that, "When we compile the congestion data for 2004, we may see that 2003 marked a low point for both the economy and for time spent stuck in traffic."
More so than in previous years, the reduction in gridlock was spread throughout the Bay Area in 2003, though declines in congestion varied widely from county to county (see Figure 2 below). Marin, Alameda and Santa Clara counties all registered congestion declines of more than 20 percent, with the biggest absolute drop occurring in Alameda County, where daily vehicle hours of delay fell by 15,000. The largest percentage drop in congestion came in Solano County, where vehicle hours of delay slipped 30 percent to 2,600 last year from 3,700 in 2002. The only Bay Area county in which congestion increased was Sonoma County, where daily vehicle hours of delay climbed 18 percent, from 4,400 in 2002 to 5,200 in 2003.
Reflecting the region's economic upheaval of the past several years, the statistics on freeway delay show a steady shift in the concentration of Bay Area congestion since 1999, with the South Bay and Peninsula accounting for an increasingly smaller share of the area's gridlock. After peaking in 2000, congestion declined steadily in both Santa Clara and San Mateo counties through 2001, 2002 and 2003. For the entire 1999-2003 period, daily vehicle hours of delay fell 37 percent in San Mateo County, 34 percent in Santa Clara County and 19 percent in Marin County, while increasing 5 percent in Alameda County, 23 percent in San Francisco, 29 percent in Contra Costa County, 44 percent in Sonoma County and a whopping 271 percent in fast-growing Solano County.
Highlighting other data gathered as part of the 2004 State of the System effort: The number of motor vehicle collisions -- as well as the number of collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists -- continued on a downward trend in 2003. Also trending downward was transit ridership, which fell 7 percent in fiscal year 2002-03, after a 3 percent drop the preceding year. And in an indication that the Bay Area is not keeping up with its pavement maintenance needs, the average pavement condition slipped slightly regionwide in 2003. Detail on these and other categories is available online at the MTC Web site at www.mtc.ca.gov/publications/state_of_the_system/index.htm.
MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.
Figure 1
Bay Area Freeway Locations with Most Delay
During Commute Hours, 2003
2003
Daily in
2003 Vehicle 2002 2001 2000 1999
Rank Location Hours Rank Rank Rank Rank
1 Interstate 80, westbound, a.m. -
Alameda/Contra Costa County
State Route 4 to Bay Bridge
metering lights 6,570 1 1 1 1
2 Interstate 80, eastbound and
U.S. 101, northbound, p.m. -
S.F.Cesar Chavez Street to west
end of Bay Bridge 4,520 4 4 5 4
3 Interstate 580, eastbound, p.m. -
Alameda CountyHopyard Road to west
of El Charro Road 4,320 3 5 13 13
3 Interstate 580, westbound, a.m. -
Alameda CountyNorth Flynn Road to
Airway Boulevard 4,320 5 12 14 17
5 Route 4, westbound, a.m. - Contra
Costa County
Hillcrest Avenue to Loveridge
Road 3,670 7 15 32 26
6 U.S. 101, southbound, a.m. -
Marin County South of Rowland
Boulevard to Interstate 580 2,980 9 8 6 7
7 U.S. 101, southbound, p.m. -
San Mateo/Santa Clara County
University Avenue to Shoreline
Boulevard 2,490 28 44 18 26
8 Route 24, eastbound, p.m. -
Alameda County Interstate 580
to Caldecott Tunnel 2,470 37 23 22 16
9 Interstate 880, northbound, p.m. -
Santa Clara/Alameda County
Montague Expressway to north of
Dixon Landing Road 2,450 6 7 12 5
10 Interstate 580, eastbound, p.m. -
Alameda CountyEast of Livermore
Avenue to east of Greenville Road 2,370 105 36 69 *
Source: Caltrans Disrict 4
Rankings are for routes in which continuous stop-and-go conditions occur
with few, if any, breaks in the queue.Thus, corridors that have equally
severe delays, but where congestion is broken into several several
segments, may rank lower in this type of congestion listing.
* No delay occurred on this segment
Figure 2
Daily Vehicle Hours of Delay by Bay Area County, 1999 - 2003
Daily Vehicle Hours of Delay Percent Change
Freeway
Miles 2002- 1999-
(2003) 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2003 2003
Alameda 138 44,300 61,700 65,600 61,300 46,300 -24% 5%
Contra
Costa 87 14,500 16,200 18,800 19,400 18,700 -4% 29%
Marin 28 7,700 9,900 7,900 8,400 6,200 -26% -19%
Napa 5 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0%
San
Francisco 19 9,100 12,500 8,500 11,400 11,200 -2% 23%
San Mateo 73 11,500 18,100 10,900 7,700 7,300 -5% -37%
Santa
Clara 137 36,900 51,700 37,000 31,600 24,300 -23% -34%
Solano 79 700 3,200 2,400 3,700 2,600 -30% 271%
Sonoma 55 3,600 4,300 4,400 4,400 5,200 18% 44%
Bay Area 621 128,300 177,600 155,500 147,900 121,800 -18% -5%
Source: Caltrans District 4