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Keller @ Large: Boston Traffic Is Getting Worse

BOSTON (CBS) - As you sit and fume in what I'm sure will be yet another horrendous day of traffic jams around our little Garden of Eden, think back with me to the good old days of the mid-1990s, when the powers that be assured us that in the future we wouldn't need to worry because the Big Dig will have wiped out chronic congestion.

Remember?

The nifty radio ads with the traffic reporter cutting his report short because there was no traffic to report on?

Big Dig
The Big Dig construction site May 6, 2000 in Boston. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Newsmakers)

I'd laugh, if it were funny. But the nightmare of trying to get around greater Boston is no laughing matter.

And now fresh statistics from the Census Bureau show just how bad things have gotten.

According to a Boston Globe analysis, the average commute for Bostonians is about 31 minutes, seventh-worst in the nation. That's nearly ten percent longer than five years ago.

We have a longer commute than Miami, Washington, and Los Angeles. Yes, you heard that right – worse than LA.

I guess the Big Dig didn't solve everything after all.

But let's look to the future for solutions.

We could dramatically expand our road infrastructure, like that second flyover they're talking about at the Sagamore Bridge. All we have to do is win a really big Powerball jackpot to pay for it.

We could pour billions into the T to finally make it a really attractive option for commuters.

Again, Powerball.

Or we could get tough on single commuters, taxing them into carpools, or start severely curbing the number of vehicles we allow on the road.

Gee. All of a sudden, LA doesn't sound too bad.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

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