Does anybody else agree that charlotte has too many damn people?

[panther4life]

Me too :) 32 years ago 

 

 

<---old lady

 

poo happens fast, but we are the first generation of Home bread Panther fans, so everyone else can suck it and hate on Charlotte all they want. :)

[hepcat]

TIL Austin and Charlotte are a lot alike

[Chimera]

Traffic is terrible if you drive 485 to South Charlotte, or if you have to get on 85 and try to get on Harris and whatnot. I've did both for jobs and usually spent an hour in the car each way, each day. Difference between here and other places, is there is no other means of getting places. This is why CNN rated us like the #1 gas guzzling city in America despite having lower pop than other cities. Triangle area was like #3. This place grew too fast for the road system and now at 4:30/5pm it's like someone stepping on an ant hill and everyone going each and every way and stuck.

one thing you are forgetting.

Many, many major cities are on a body of water. Charlotte isn't. You have alternate routes here.

[Zaximus]

one thing you are forgetting.

Many, many major cities are on a body of water. Charlotte isn't. You have alternate routes here.

 

Actually, you don't.  The reason is because of what I said.  The city grew too fast.  There are alternate routes but they aren't any better.  Ants leaving an ant hill.  Doesn't matter how you go on those routes, you are screwed.  Everyone has the internet and google maps, everyone knows the routes, it doesn't matter because traffic is still terrible.  I've tried them all and it doesn't matter.

[Chimera]

Actually, you don't. The reason is because of what I said. The city grew too fast. There are alternate routes but they aren't any better. Ants leaving an ant hill. Doesn't matter how you go on those routes, you are screwed. Everyone has the internet and google maps, everyone knows the routes, it doesn't matter because traffic is still terrible. I've tried them all and it doesn't matter.

I don't know, man. You mentioned two roads I rarely need to take. I know I work uptown and used to waste about 45 minutes commuting one way. Somebody showed me a short cut that knocked 15 minutes off. I've since found another (but slower) route that takes 5-10 off, depending how I time the lights. 25 minutes was significant to me. I might put an extra mile or three on my odometer, but it works for me.

There are times that I should take my normal 45 minute route (uptown events) because it gets me out of the area quicker.

Harris Blvd can get frustrating at times - I've been there. But from what I see, and I could be wrong, most of the problems come from either over-aggressive drivers or confused/indecisive drivers.

I get to south charlotte fine without driving for a second on 485, but I don't know where you're starting so I can't say the same would hold true for you. I can get to Monroe from University without touching 485 or 74 - I might take like 5 minutes longer, but I won't stress out over the trip.

What I meant by Charlotte having alternate routes, though, was more about it not being limited by bodies of water like most major cities.

Take Seattle for instance - the Puget Sound is to the west and Lake Washington is to the East. Or if you're going south from Tacoma, Puget Sound on one side and a large military installation on the other. If you need to get through Seattle or Tacoma in a hurry, you might want to buy a helicopter. Sure you can go around if you've got an extra few hours to kill and don't mind hearing dueling banjos along your trip.

Driving between Milwaukee and Chicago is similar. NYC is surrounded by water.

Being able to go 360 degrees from a city can work to your advantage.

[Zaximus]

Uptown is one of the easiest drives in Charlotte actually.  The only problems I have is Matthews on 74 after that it's fine. 

 

From Matthews to South Charlotte at work traffic hours, for instance lets say you work on Westinghouse or South Blvd, you're looking at a good 45 minutes to an hour sometimes each way.

 

From Matthews to 85 (view 485) to get onto Harris, about the same thing because of the backup to get onto 85.  Hopefully the new interchange helps here.  In the afternoon you have to get on 85 to get to 485 off Harris and for like 2 miles it takes about 20 minutes.  It doesn't matter if you take Tryon to Harris or anything, it's backed up.  It doesn't matter if you take Tyron straight to 485 in the afternoon, it's backed up.  There isn't any short cuts, I tried them all and sat there in traffic as a failure lol.  I also noticed that in Charlotte, even if the wreck is 20-30 miles away, it will impact your drive significantly.  

 

So yeah, Charlotte IS terrible.  I know people in other cities like to say "you don't know traffic" well, we do, it's not as terrible as maybe Atlanta and some other places,  but it's pretty terrible AND with like 1/8th the population of said cities.  

[4Corners]

Charlotte has too many damn people that don't belong here (South Carolina included). It's pretty simple. It's also a reason why our fanbase is what it is. Panthers are too many people's "second" team and not their first. 

 

 

[Chimera]

Uptown is one of the easiest drives in Charlotte actually. The only problems I have is Matthews on 74 after that it's fine.

From Matthews to South Charlotte at work traffic hours, for instance lets say you work on Westinghouse or South Blvd, you're looking at a good 45 minutes to an hour sometimes each way.

From Matthews to 85 (view 485) to get onto Harris, about the same thing because of the backup to get onto 85. Hopefully the new interchange helps here. In the afternoon you have to get on 85 to get to 485 off Harris and for like 2 miles it takes about 20 minutes. It doesn't matter if you take Tryon to Harris or anything, it's backed up. It doesn't matter if you take Tyron straight to 485 in the afternoon, it's backed up. There isn't any short cuts, I tried them all and sat there in traffic as a failure lol. I also noticed that in Charlotte, even if the wreck is 20-30 miles away, it will impact your drive significantly.

So yeah, Charlotte IS terrible. I know people in other cities like to say "you don't know traffic" well, we do, it's not as terrible as maybe Atlanta and some other places, but it's pretty terrible AND with like 1/8th the population of said cities.

of course the area around 85 and Harris is bad - it used to be 8 lanes and now its 4 with a gang of lane switches to go along with traffic merging from 485 and construction zone speed limits

If I have to go that way I usually take Eastfield

...and there is only 1 US city with 8x the population of Charlotte and many people in that city do not drive

[Mr. Scot]

I thought for sure someone would have put a Jimmy McMillan photo in here by now :unsure:

[pstall]

if i avoid 77/85/485 i can scoot in around the city with ease from pstall manor in the sopa area. but depending on what time of day if i get on those aforementioned roads forget it.

[Chimera]

if i avoid 77/85/485 i can scoot in around the city with ease from pstall manor in the sopa area. but depending on what time of day if i get on those aforementioned roads forget it.

get a tom tom brand gps. that thing will never give you the most direct route. I've taken some strange congestion free routes to sopa

[NanuqoftheNorth]

I had to get out of town in the mid 80's because of your mommas and daddies were reproducing like rabbits. 

 

They pushed me over the edge with their slow meandering minivans and distracted driving maneuvers while attempting to discipline you screaming brats in the back seat.

 

It gives me great pleasure to know y'all are now reapin' what your horny parents sewed... 

 

Count your blessings though, Charlotte drivers usually have numerous alternate routes to choose from when traffic gets heavy.  

 

As someone mentioned earlier, other cities with natural barriers like oceans and mountains aren't so lucky.  Those geographic features make escaping from traffic jams a nearly impossible task.