Seattle ranks 10th in country for time spent in traffic
Feb 20, 2017, 7:15 AM
Traffic on I-5 between Everett and Marysville can be rough at any time of day. (AP)
(AP)
Seattle has hit another milestone. It’s now ranked tenth in the country for the amount of time drivers spend in traffic.
According to a new study, traffic is now costing us more than just time spent in our cars.
Seattle now joins cities like LA, New York and Miami in the top 10 most congested in the country, according to a study put out by Kirkland-based traffic group Inrix.
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They say Seattle drivers spent an average 55 hours last year stuck in congestion, more than 12 percent of the time drivers spend in their cars, costing each person nearly $1,600 a year.
The total impact to the economy is more than $2 billion.
“I think it’s a big deal. For a lot of people, how much time they spend in traffic is one of the biggest challenges they have in managing their day to day life,” said Chris Handley with Inrix.
Meanwhile, Inrix says the worse days for traffic last year were Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays.
The lightest days for traffic — Mondays and Fridays – are typically the days most people take off from work.
