Freeway of Love

Yet another study reminds Southern Californians what we already know: Our traffic is the worst in the country.

According to the 2005 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Orange County region boasted the worst commute, with rush-hour commuters spending 93 hours each year in stalled traffic. San Francisco-Oakland was next, with 72 hours; followed by Washington, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland, at 69 hours; and Atlanta, averaging 67 hours.

The Daily News, to no surprise, focused on the negative portions of the report:

Southern California motorists again wasted more time in stalled traffic than anywhere else in the nation and the region is expected to continue its dismal ranking for years, experts said Monday.

The L.A. Times, on the other hand, took a glass-half-full approach and focused on the positive:

It may be hard to believe — especially if you drive to work on U.S. Highway 101 or Interstate 405 — but traffic congestion in Los Angeles and Orange counties eased off a little bit, according to a national report released Monday by the Texas Transportation Institute.

Residents of Los Angeles and Orange counties wasted 93 hours in rush-hour commuter traffic in 2003 — still the worst in the nation, but five fewer hours than the year before and 10 fewer than in 2000, the report by researchers at the Texas A&M University institute said.