My World Tuesday = Terrible Traffic TuesdaySeptember 8, 2009
Terrible Traffic Tuesday is what today will be in the greater Washington D.C. metro area. Summer vacations are over. School children are finally heading back to school in Virginia. Congress is back in session. Federal employees are heading into D.C. from places are far away as West Virginia and south of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Teachers are heading back to the classrooms. High school students are driving to school because it isn't cool to ride the bus. Over 173,000 students are heading to classrooms in Fairfax County alone so that means several things. Fairfax County will have more buses on the county roads than Greyhound Bus Lines because Fairfax County Public Schools is the #12 largest school system in the United States. Many many mothers will be driving to the schools to drop off students who live so close to the schools that they could actually walk if the parents would allow it. Childcare services like KinderCare will be sending a van to every school to drop off and pick up students. That's just Fairfax County. Now add Arlington County, Alexandria City, Loudoun County, Prince William County and Stafford County to this school traffic mix. You are beginning to see the driving nightmare that this is.
Then we have the preschool students who will be heading out with moms in cars to hundreds of preschool sites---usually at local churches. And the fall tourists will still be coming to D.C. and the travelers will still be heading either north or south on interstate #95. The traffic congestion in the greater Washington D.C. area is terrific. On a regular work day over 3 million drivers are running all around the greater D.C. metro area. Only one other metro area in the entire country is worse---that claim to fame goes to Los Angelas. It is enough to make you want to turn off the alarm and hide under the covers in fear.
And the icing on the cake this morning is that it is raining/drizzling in the metro area which means it will be a Double Terrible Traffic Tuesday. So everyone just remain calm, say a prayer and take it easy on the roads and sidewalks and look out for the little kids crossing the street with the traffic guards and the little ones getting on those big school buses for the very first time.
Here's where you can go for more info: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2009/09/the_week_ahead_1.html?hpid=topnews
And for all of you just reading this for My World Tuesday say whew! and head on to your next traffic stop, er, I mean next My World Tuesday meme site by clicking here: http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/
Oh, and I forgot to mention all the college students heading out in their cars to the many many colleges in the metro area and all the new road construction going on now because of the additional stimulus money. So do expect delays every day till summer vacation rolls around again next June. As for me I'm thinking about going back to bed. I'm retired! Yipee!!!
Oh, I can surely sympathise with that! The traffic in my world is also getting worse and worse! When it is school holidays, it makes such a difference to the traffic volumne. South Africa where I live is an emerging economy and the more prosperous (which is a positive development) people become, the more cars are purchased and the more cars on the road.
ReplyDeleteWhere do these students get the money to run cars? I know some of them will have holiday jobs but I bet M and D fork out most of the time.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I don't live in such a busy place--Perth is big enough for me!
At one time I lived in a real touristy area and was always glad when the season ended so that we could all move about a bit easier but then without the tourists.....
Where do all these kids get the money for cars and the gas? Yes, from Mom and Dad. I can't throw stone. We let our daughters drive old American cars to school when they got their license but we said that they had to buy the gas to put in the car so they both found after school jobs: clerks at stores in the local mall. And lots of kids do lots of extra-curricular school activities to make their school record for college look better. My hubby had to make a 10 mile one way trip back to the high school when our daughter was a high school freshmn and became an athletic trainer. Then around 9:00 P.M. he had to make that same 10 mile trip back to the high school to pick her up so when she learned to drive safely he was glad to let her drive herself to high school and to the after school activities.
ReplyDeleteHi Joann, Yes - glad you didn't have to join the stream of traffic! Here in CO, it's pretty laid back, especially where I live. (Except on weekends when tourists will still arrive to look at the changing leaves.)
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