rush-hour resentment

Austin parks in the No. 3 spot for worst traffic in Texas

All Austin roads lead to traffic.

Courtesy photo

Honk if you hate Austin traffic! According to a new study, you’re more than justified in laying on the horn to express frustration over the Capital City’s clogged roads.

The study, released by geolocation technology company TomTom, shows the typical Austin driver wasted 46 hours last year due to traffic congestion. Austin’s traffic congestion rate was 20 percent.

Jammed-up traffic congestion was up 2 percent from 2020 but down 7 percent from 2019, parking Austin at the No. 3 spot for the worst traffic in Texas, No. 21 in the U.S., and No. 221 in the world for traffic congestion, further highlight the drive-me-up-a-wall status of Austin commutes.

While Austin’s snarled traffic can certainly cause bumper-to-bumper exasperation, it’s not as bad as some other Texas cities. Houston ranks first in Texas for traffic congestion, with Texas A&M Transportation Institute data published in December showing the 610 West Loop was the state’s most congested stretch of roadway in 2020, trading places with I-35 in Austin, which held the top spot in 2019.

On top of that, Houston is home to 10 of the 14 worst trucking bottlenecks in Texas, according to an American Transportation Research Institute ranking released earlier this month. The absolute worst: I-45 at I-69 and U.S. Highway 59. The institute deemed that intersection the third-worst trucking bottleneck in the country for 2021.

“Bottlenecks around the state continue to waste time and money, further damaging the already fragile supply chain,” John Esparza, president and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association, says in a news release. “With the newly available federal resources for infrastructure projects, there’s no excuse. These bottlenecks must be addressed. A reliable and stable transportation network is essential to our economy — just like the trucking industry.”

Outside of Austin, here’s how other major Texas cities fared in the TomTom study:

Houston ranked first in Texas, 16th in the U.S., and 214th in the world for traffic congestion. Time wasted in traffic last year for a typical driver: 46 hours. Congestion rate: 20 percent. Congestion was up 4 percent from 2020 but down 4 percent from 2019.
McAllen ranked second in Texas, 18th in the U.S., and 218th in the world for traffic congestion. Time wasted in traffic last year for a typical driver: 46 hours. Congestion rate: 20 percent. Congestion was up 4 percent from 2020 and up 1 percent from 2019.
Dallas-Fort Worth ranked fourth in Texas, 37th in the U.S., and 305th in the world for traffic congestion. Time wasted in traffic last year for a typical driver: 39 hours. Congestion rate: 17 percent. Congestion was up 4 percent from 2020 but down 2 percent from 2019.
San Antonio ranked fifth in Texas, 41st in the U.S., and 318th in the world for traffic congestion. Time wasted in traffic last year for a typical driver: 36 hours. Congestion rate: 16 percent. Congestion was up 3 percent from 2020 but down 3 percent from 2019.
El Paso ranked sixth in Texas, 44th in the U.S., and 324th in the world for traffic congestion. Time wasted in traffic last year for a typical driver: 36 hours. Congestion rate: 16 percent. Congestion was up 4 percent from 2020 and the same as 2019.

Not surprisingly, the TomTom study awards New York City the title of the worst-congested place in the country. In 2021, the typical New York driver wasted 80 hours in traffic, with a 35 percent congestion rate.

Racking up a congestion rate of 62 percent last year, Istanbul, Turkey, claimed the title of the world’s worst city for traffic. There, motorists wasted 142 hours in traffic in 2021.

traffic rankings transportation lists

Be Free

Free Week is ready to rock again with new City of Austin funding

Photo courtesy of Red River Cultural District / Renee Dominguez

Chancla Fight Club performs at Valhalla during a previous Free Week Festival.

The Red River Cultural District (RRCD)'s Free Week music festival is back, and perhaps better than ever after some newly secured funding from the City of Austin.

On January 3 and 4, this admission-free winter music festival will bring Austinites back-to-back performances from dozens of local musicians, spanning over 20 venues, restaurants, bars, and food trucks in the Red River area.

Free Week, which began in Austin over 20 years ago, was nearly canceled earlier in 2024 due to lack of funding. But thanks to a decision made on November 7 — after a long and hard-fought battle between RRCD and City Council — Free Week and RRCD's other popular festival Hot Summer Nights are saved for the foreseeable future.

Here's what happened, according to RRCD interim Executive Director Nicole Klepadlo.

Back in 2023, RRCD — a few blocks featuring a high concentration of popular music venues and other nightlife destinations — started pleading its case for funding with the City of Austin. At the time organizers were hoping for a cultural funding grant to help support their donation-based summer festival, Hot Summer Nights. Unfortunately it was declined and still, today, Klepadlo is not really sure why.

"We were just kind of perplexed," she says.

So, they needed to pivot. In January of 2024, they presented their case to the City of Austin's Boards and Commissions, essentially requesting funding for the district as a whole, which would ultimately support their festivals. After some back-and-forth negotiating and even rejections early in the year, finally, on November 7, the RRCD's advocacy paid off.

"We received $150,000 annually for up to four years for cultural district funding," says Klepadlo. "It will largely go to supporting Free Week and Hot Summer Nights. But it will also go to an economic analysis. One of the things people kept saying is 'What is the economic impact of your district?' So this will help leverage us for other future funding opportunities through brands or donors."

It's not just about urgent needs, now. RRCD is also planning to start work on a new "cultural history project" showcasing the area's lasting value to locals.

"We want to start diving into the musical heritage of the Red River Cultural District and start telling the stories," says Klepadlo. "Many of these venues were different venues than they are today; we've had a lot of musicians who got their start here back in the 70s."

Some of the venues and businesses involved in the RRCD include the Waterloo Amphitheater, Mohawk, Cheer Up Charlies, Stubbs, Valhalla, The 13th Floor, Elysium, Empire Control Room and Garage, Creek and Cave, Chess Club, Swan Dive, Barbarella, Flamingo Cantina, various food trucks, restaurants, and groups like the German Texas Heritage Society, the First Baptist Church, and the Austin Symphony. All told, there are about 40 businesses that are engaged on a regular basis.

Of course, it wasn't always like this. After a wave of venue closures back in 2015, a group of music venue representatives, small businesses, and members of cultural institutions all got together for one of Klepadlo's "favorite meetings" at The Mohawk.

"Back then there were over 12 independent live music venues, so there was a lot of competition," she says. "But we were all sitting around this table at Mohawk realizing, 'We've got to band together.' And that has morphed into forging this unified voice and collective, that has really ended up identifying the needs for this particular place. Not just for locals, but for jobs and tourism."

A meeting at Mohawk back in 2015 helped form what the RRCD is today.Photo from redriverculturaldistrict.org.

Another of the RRCD's hopes is that it can keep the vibe of the area intact going forward, even through the fast development is sweeping across the east side of downtown. Organizers want to collaborate with the city to make sure the district stays there (and stays cool) for years to come.

When asked if there might be something the RRCD could do to prevent venues from getting bulldozed and replaced by condos or something, Klepadlo replies, "We wish."

Right now RRCD hasn't gotten the traction or support it'd like in order to ensure that future development in the area honors what the district is all about. But Klepadlo is hopeful.

"This funding gives me hope that as we start to think about what happens to the eastern part of downtown, there will be a Red River Cultural District that looks like it does today; only more vibrant," she says. "I'm really excited to see where things go from here."

Aside from this new funding from the City of Austin, this year's Free Week is also supported by sponsors and partners like Airbnb, Austin Chronicle, KUTX 98.9 FM, Downtown Austin Alliance, The Moody Center’s Red River Rising, and many more.

The music lineup for Free Week will be revealed soon, as well as a new lineup of food and drink promotions. CultureMap will share updates as they're available.

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