Miami’s traffic is getting worse

Miami’s level of congestion isn’t anywhere near the nightmare gridlock found in cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco, but traffic is worsening year over year and is now the sixth most congested city in the United States.

According to a study by TomTom, Miami’s “Congestion Level” received a two-point boost from a year ago to 30 percent, which ranks 75th worldwide. Congestion Level indicates the increase in overall traffic times compared to a free-flow situation.

Miami moved up one spot from the No. 7 ranking it received in last year’s TomTom study. Los Angeles (45%), San Francisco (39%), and New York (35%) paced the nation, while Mexico City (66%), Bangkok (61%), and Jakarta (58%) led the world.

As for how the city plans to appease congestion in an area with so much residential development in the pipeline, they’re currently reviving discussions regarding a Brickell Tunnel and there’s also the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) plan in the works, calling for a much-needed route connecting downtown Miami and Miami Beach among its six new lines.

However, as we saw during the Hurricane Irma evacuations, traffic in emergency situations is often unavoidable if you don’t make the decision to leave early on. The Miami Herald described the traffic conditions as “hell” for those South Floridians returning after the hurricane.