Report: Seattle has second-worst congestion, third-worst traffic in nation

Driving through the Puget Sound region is a notorious experience for commuters coming to and from work, and now a Consumer Affairs report for 2023 confirmed just how awful it can be in Seattle and its surrounding areas.

Seattle has the second worst congestion and the third worst traffic among 49 measured major metro areas, according to the report’s findings. Consumer Affairs evaluates traffic through levels of congestion, travel times and fatal crashes via the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The study found that Seattle averages nearly seven hours of average daily congestion on its roads compared with the national average of three hours and 41 minutes.

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“There are three things that are going on for those that drive every single day,” Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show,” said. “No. 1, people don’t have a set job to be at, so working from home definitely got folks out and about. No. 2, we have a lot of rideshares out there on the roads, whether it is DoorDash or Uber Eats or Uber or Lyft. You have a lot of delivery drivers out there on the road. No. 3, all of the Amazon trucks out there with the delivery drivers in this area of Seattle. You take I-405 between Exit 2 and Exit 9, it is just awful.”

Los Angeles ranked first with the worst congestion and traffic in the country. Washington D.C., San Francisco, New York, Denver, Portland, Atlanta, Chicago and Baltimore rounded out the top 10 in terms of traffic on the road.

The average commute in Seattle is 28.3 minutes — the 14th most among the 49 major metro areas. Of the top-most congested cities, Seattle ranked seventh for fatal car crashes. Seattle averages 5.21 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents, while the national average is 11.8.

“It seems to be getting longer and longer,” Ursula Reutin, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show,” said. “Especially during the summer because that’s when all the construction happens. You can’t even get a rest from it on the weekends anymore.”

According to Axios, the average driver in Seattle lost 58 hours due to congestion in 2023, a 12-hour increase in traffic delay from 2022. That 12-hour difference was the highest increase of any metro area in the U.S.

I’m going to say a triggering word. This is the new normal, right?” Gee asked. “When’s the last time you went to the grocery store during the day and was like, ‘Why is it packed in the grocery store right now?’ Why is it packed in the gym right now? The work from home. You would think people working from home, well nobody’s out on the roads. No, it’s actually the opposite. Like people are out. This is why sometimes there’s traffic at 12 p.m. out there.

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“And here in this region, plus all of the bodies of water, our infrastructure years ago was not set up for this,” Gee continued.

Mike from Edmonds texted into “The Gee and Ursula Show” with a potential solution for traffic congestion: To give people financial incentives to live close to where they work or give them financial incentives to seek employment closer to where they live, contending that it would benefit both the environment and an employee’s well-being.

“Where does the money come from?” Gee asked. “And if they start giving people more wages and stuff like that, then the price of a cheeseburger goes up, the more housing goes up.”

Gee informed the radio audience that the drive from Tacoma, where he lives, to Seattle, where he works, took one hour and 45 minutes Wednesday.

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m.- noon on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.