Vancouver has just been named the worst city in Canada for traffic congestion, according to a popular GPS company, second only to Los Angeles for worst relative traffic slowness in North America.
Toronto came in ninth, continent-wide, Ottawa 10th and Montreal 12th.
Amsterdam-based automotive GPS maker TomTom ranked the cities using their "congestion index," which compares how quickly traffic moves on average compared to how it moves when no other cars are on the road, reports the CBC.
"When people are driving on the Vancouver road network, their travel time will be 30 percent longer than it would be when there was no traffic on the road," Nick Cohn of TomTom told the CBC.
Miami, Seattle and Tampa, Florida rounded out the top five North American cities with the worst congestion. Calgary, in 16th, and Edmonton, in 23rd, made the top 25.
TomTom also compares cities' "congestion index" year-to-year, to see whether traffic's clearing up there or getting worst. Ottawa ranked third for the biggest increase in congestion, and Edmonton ranked first for biggest decrease. Toronto was fifth on the decrease-in-congestion scale.
Vancouver didn't do so bad when TomTom ranked the delay-in-commute during peak times. During the five o'clock rush, drivers experienced a delay of only 34 minutes per hour of driving, which is less of a delay than drivers in Los Angeles, Seattle and Ottawa experience at peak times.
Cohn figures Vancouver could be so congested because there aren't enough highways leading into the city. But the regional transportation authority says the lack of a highway network isn't all bad.
"The upside of having fewer highways is livability," TransLink spokesperson Drew Snider told CBC. "You have more in the way of residential areas, you don't have as much in the way of highway traffic you can contend with."
Think any of the congestion can be blamed on the always-busy Lions Gate Bridge?
Toronto came in ninth, continent-wide, Ottawa 10th and Montreal 12th.
Amsterdam-based automotive GPS maker TomTom ranked the cities using their "congestion index," which compares how quickly traffic moves on average compared to how it moves when no other cars are on the road, reports the CBC.
"When people are driving on the Vancouver road network, their travel time will be 30 percent longer than it would be when there was no traffic on the road," Nick Cohn of TomTom told the CBC.
Miami, Seattle and Tampa, Florida rounded out the top five North American cities with the worst congestion. Calgary, in 16th, and Edmonton, in 23rd, made the top 25.
TomTom also compares cities' "congestion index" year-to-year, to see whether traffic's clearing up there or getting worst. Ottawa ranked third for the biggest increase in congestion, and Edmonton ranked first for biggest decrease. Toronto was fifth on the decrease-in-congestion scale.
Vancouver didn't do so bad when TomTom ranked the delay-in-commute during peak times. During the five o'clock rush, drivers experienced a delay of only 34 minutes per hour of driving, which is less of a delay than drivers in Los Angeles, Seattle and Ottawa experience at peak times.
Cohn figures Vancouver could be so congested because there aren't enough highways leading into the city. But the regional transportation authority says the lack of a highway network isn't all bad.
"The upside of having fewer highways is livability," TransLink spokesperson Drew Snider told CBC. "You have more in the way of residential areas, you don't have as much in the way of highway traffic you can contend with."
Think any of the congestion can be blamed on the always-busy Lions Gate Bridge?
