Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Car Dependence

Great Cities Don’t Have Much Traffic, But They Do Have Congestion

Image: Tomtoms 2013 via Cityclock
Places with less traffic have more congestion. Graphic: City Clock
Image: Tomtoms 2013 via Cityclock

Here's a great visualization of what cities get out of the billions of dollars spent on highways and road expansion: more traffic.

Justin Swan at City Clock made this chart showing the relationship between congestion levels, as measured by TomTom, and car use. (Yes, it has no X axis -- here's Swan's explanation of how to read his chart.) The pattern that emerges is that the places with the most traffic and driving also have the least congestion.

We know from the work of Joe Cortright that the traditional definition of congestion is a poor way to measure people's ability to get around their city -- because it doesn't reflect the actual time people spend traveling. Drivers in Dallas and Houston may stew in gridlock less than people in other cities, but they spend more time on the road.

Swan notes that the most congested places are also the places where people have good travel options that don't involve driving. His chart suggests that car congestion itself is not the problem that needs to be solved -- as long as there are other ways to get around, in a congested city few people will actually have to sit in traffic.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

How To End Your City’s Fight Over Scooter Parking Once and For All

Micromobility riders need a good place to end their ride just like everyone else — and cities can accomplish several goals at once by giving them one.

May 14, 2025

Blue State AGs Sue Trump Over ‘Strong-Arm’ Tactic of Tying DOT Funds to Immigration Crackdown

The U.S. Department of Transportation is illegally threatening to withhold billions in transportation funding to states that don't "cooperate" with the administration's immigration crackdown, a new suit argues.

May 14, 2025

Let Wednesday’s Headlines Clear Our Throat

Congestion pricing is doing what its supporters promised it would do.

May 14, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Blocked In

Cities and regional governments could do a better job of spending federal transportation money than states, argues the Brookings Institute.

May 13, 2025

Check out Seattle’s New Subway!*

*...but only for stormwater runoff, not people. And considering that cars, trucks, roads and parking lots for cars are responsible for half of stormwater volumes — and contribute most to toxic runoff — why are households that don't even drive paying to keep other's waste from polluting sensitive waterways?

May 13, 2025
See all posts