US Gives Big Jump to NYC Traffic Plan

How does your 'highway to hell' rank?

(NEWSER) - We all know LA has a traffic problem, but Honolulu? It's No. 2 in the nation, finds the Daily Beast , which crunched the numbers to rank America's 75 worst commutes. Some of the highlights:

• No. 3, Capital Beltway, Washington, DC: This slow moving route totals an average of 194 hours of congestion per week. "It's a rough road," says a local transportation reporter.

Beijing and Mexico City lead the way

(NEWSER) - IBM surveyed drivers in 20 of the world's biggest cities to find the worst commutes. The bottom 5 (based on a slew of factors including time stuck in traffic and stress) in the commuter pain index are:

1. Beijing (99 on a scale of 100)
2. Mexico City (99)
3. Johannesburg (97)
4. Moscow (84, with 2½-hour traffic jams common)
5. New Delhi (81)

Motorists balk at prospect of paying up to $5 to drive to city center

(NEWSER) - A plan to charge motorists for driving downtown in peak hours could be a step too far even for famously green San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reports. City officials say the plan, which would be the first of its kind in the nation if it passes, would reduce traffic and pollution—but reactions so far have been mostly negative. More»

Tolls for high-traffic areas had been mayor's pet project

(NEWSER) - New York state legislators today killed a plan that would have brought congestion pricing—higher fees at peak traffic hours—to parts of Manhattan, a major defeat for Mike Bloomberg, the Times reports. The mayor and a coalition of environmental groups backed the idea, but legislators from the city's outer boroughs and elsewhere opposed the fees, which would have been as high as $8, as regressive. More»

But Ventura, Inland Empire are catching up

(NEWSER) - Los Angeles and Orange counties are still tied for No. 1 in the nation in traffic delays, a study published today by the Texas Transportation Institute concludes. Motorists in either county lost an average of 72 hours in rush hour traffic in 2005—almost 2 work weeks. LA and Orange have lead the competition 23 out of the last 24 years. More»