By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published May 5, 2009

If you feel as though Charleston-area roads are less crowded, you’re not alone. Well, actually you are — at least more alone than you were last year, according to a national scorecard from a company that tracks traffic patterns across the country.

You can thank or blame the declining economy for the decline in traffic. Increasing fuel costs also get part of the credit, Inrix Inc. said in its annual report on congestion. The company uses GPS technology to compile its data.

Real estate seems to figure into the data, as Riverside, Calif. — which had one of the highest foreclosure rates in 2008 — saw the biggest drop in road congestion. And jobless numbers factor in as well: The second-largest decrease was in Detroit, where the unemployment rate topped 21% in 2008.

“While less traffic is generally good news, the causes of it aren’t necessarily something to celebrate,” said Bryan Mistele, Inrix president and CEO. “Traffic congestion is an excellent indicator of trends, telling us whether businesses are shipping products, whether people are going to work and whether shoppers are going to the mall.”

The report cautioned municipalities and states against using a temporary decrease in congestion to pull back from infrastructure projects; more cars and trucks are likely to return as the economy recovers.

Jeff Burns, senior planner with the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, thinks the shock of suddenly higher gas prices in 2008 might have caused a change in habits more than did the overall economy.

With news reports about the declining economy in front of everyone every day, Burns said it has everyone thinking twice before spending money — even those who are employed.

“There were some significant drops in traffic,” Burns said. “Of the traffic count stations, there’s probably a little more that have declined than gained.”

The COG’s data show that several of the region’s highways have increased in traffic, such as Secessionville at 18% and Harbor View Road at 11%; but some major declines along the typical commuter routes align with Intrix’s scorecard, including:

• Folly Road to Battery Road: Down 18%.
• U.S. Highway 78 to Interstate 26: Down 16%.
• Bohicket Road: Down 13%.
• Jedburg Road: Down 22.73%.

“I’m a little hesitant to say this data reflects a change, because I have a feeling this data was a little preceding the depths of the downturn,” Burns said. “I really do think this reflects some of the gas price issues.”

The COG plans to roll out a Mobility Management program in June to encourage carpooling and to educate businesses about the savings in cost and productivity by helping employees get to and from work with the least amount of congestion.

The centerpiece of the program is a Web-based tool that makes carpool matches for commuters based on where they live and their work schedules.

“We’re going to offer that as a program in addition to educating our employers about flexible scheduling and the advantages of telecommuting, letting them know about the pre-tax advantages for bus passes,” Burns said.

Nearly every major metropolitan area in the country saw a double-digit decrease in traffic congestion between 2007 and 2008 on the Intrix scorecard, with a 30% average decline nationwide. Overall, Americans spent an average of 13 fewer hours stuck in traffic in 2008 than in 2007, Mistele said.

The exception was Baton Rogue, La., which saw a 6% increase in congestion during peak hours.

The smallest decrease among South Carolina’s population centers was 24.8% in the Greenville metro area, followed by the Charlotte-Gastonia, N.C., metro area and Augusta-Aiken.

The data also reveal other driving patterns. The slowest driving occurs from 5-6 p.m. Thursday in Charleston, Greenville and Augusta-Aiken, but 5-6 p.m. Friday is worse in Columbia and the Charlotte region.

Across the rest of the nation, more people are on the roads from 5-6 p.m. Fridays.

Traffic congestion along South Carolina’s roads 2008*

Source: Inrix Inc. 2008 Scorecard

*Inrix uses GPS tracking to compile its data in 1 million vehicles covering more than 800,000 miles of roads.