A dip in tourism and a spike in unemployment translate to less traffic congestion on Honolulu's roadways, according to a recent study.

In the 2009 INRIX National Traffic Scorecard Annual Report, Honolulu dropped to 38th from 33rd in its ranking of the top 100 metro areas across the country with the worst traffic congestion. INRIX officials cited Honolulu's high unemployment rate, sluggish tourism and fewer conventions held on Oahu as factors contributing to a decrease in traffic.

“;That doesn't surprise me in the least,”; said state Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert.

While Honolulu's traffic congestion ranking dropped, the city remained the second highest behind Los Angeles when it comes to travel times motorists spend on the roadways during peak traffic hours. Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; and Austin, Texas, followed Los Angeles and Honolulu.

In 2007 and 2008, Honolulu ranked the highest for having the longest travel time during peak traffic.

Honolulu's unemployment rate rose from 2.7 percent in January 2008 to 6.1 percent last May before dropping to 5.3 percent in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The recent study indicated the worst day and hour to travel in Honolulu is on Thursday between 4 and 5 p.m. Friday between 5 and 6 p.m. remained America's most congested hour.

In Honolulu the worst place and time to be in traffic is on the town-bound lanes of the H-1 freeway near Farrington High School on Thursdays between 5 and 6 p.m., when motorists inch along at 8 mph.

Taxis, airport shuttles, service delivery vans, long-haul trucks and consumer vehicles equipped with GPS devices were used to collect information for the study.

    Honolulu tops list for worst traffic

 

 

Report lists the top 100 cities with the worst traffic congestion. Hawaii is ranked second to Los Angeles.

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But Wayne Yoshioka, city transportation services director, saw some potential problems with that methodology. Reports from “;GPS-enabled probed vehicles”; might have difficulty discerning which roads they are reading in Honolulu, Yoshioka said, because of the numerous streets that run parallel.

“;It doesn't know if it's on the H-1 or Kamehameha Highway,”; said Yoshioka.

State transportation officials have made the traffic problem a priority, implementing programs such as the Freeway Service Patrol and tackling highway projects that include the recent opening of Kualakai Parkway, formerly known as North South Road, according to Brennon Morioka, state transportation director.

The INRIX report was based on 2008 census figures to identify the top 100 cities. The complete study is available at inrix.com/ scorecard.