Texas Cities Are Seeing Less Traffic

Traffic pretty much sucks no matter where you are in Texas, (especially El Paso), but studies show it's getting better. Everywhere but this Texas city anyway ...

Across the United States of America, traffic congestion is worse than it was before the pandemic. All of the lone star state's major cities have experienced the opposite though with congestion actually decreasing.

Houston saw a major drop, (11%), San Antonio dipped 10% and even Dallas fell a tiny bit, (1%), between 2019 and 2022.

Smaller cities are catching a break too ... McAllen fell 5%, Beaumont, 21%, Corpus Christi, 19% and Brownsville 22%.

The study says El Paso congestion dropped 17% but, honestly, I demand a recount on that one.

Seriously, I totally expected El Chuco to be the city where congestion and delay stats bucked the trend and rose but, surprisingly, it wasn't us ... it was Laredo, Texas. They're up 10% compared to their pre-COVID numbers.

So, what's up with Laredo? Apparently, it's trucking ...

Trucks and delivery vehicles are zipping around the country more than ever before, from fulfillment centers to retail stores and doorsteps, explained David Schrank, a senior research scientist and primary author of the Institute’s Urban Mobility Report. If you look at cities with worsening traffic, many are at the intersection of key trucking corridors, meaning there’s constant movement on the roads — even outside of commuter traffic. - KXAN

I get it ... and, who am I to argue? I'm no traffic engineer ... but that seems weird to me. A truck with 500 delivery items on it should, in theory, keep 500 cars from being driven to the store right?

Hmmm ...