For the last year or so, I’ve been taking an alternate route to work most days. I used to speed down route 7, except for the fact that there was very little actual speed involved. Though a straight shot on 7 from my house to work takes only 12 minutes at night with zero traffic, some mornings it could take 35 or 40 minutes to get to work. Especially during the school year.
After many years of taking this frustrating route and never knowing how long it would take me to get to work, I found a way to circumvent the majority of the traffic I faced daily. The road is slower, but the traffic is minimal and most importantly, the travel time is consistent. I still have to get on route 7, but for a much shorter stretch than before. My travel time is generally about 25 minutes. Sure, I could shave five minutes off of that with a good morning on 7, but I think overall, I’m making out much better on the deal. Plus, the reduced traffic-related driving stress is quite nice.
I don’t know how most people would handle it — would other people take route 7 for the gamble of a possibly slightly faster right? Or would they be like me, preferring consistency?
Posted in Cars
COD September 17, 2007, 4:07 pm
Back in my commuting days, I always favored consistency over absolute speed. When I was going into Sterling on Fridays only, the drive home to Fburg could be 90 minutes to 3 hours taking the normal route involving I-95. Or I could add 20 miles to it, by going 29 towards Charlottesville, and be home in exactly 2 hours every time.
I opted for the country drive.
Merle September 21, 2007, 9:26 pm
Reducing traffic stress is important. I prefer variety over consistency when commuting, but taking surface streets and alternate routes satisfies that compulsion quite nicely.