TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) -- When it comes to traffic lights and the amount of them in Tallahassee, if you're a driver, hitting one red light after another can be frustrating. For driving, rush hour can be a pain. Lunch hour on the other hand, not so much. Mid morning or late afternoon can be a hodgepodge.
Why are driving times so different throughout the day? Some blame the traffic. Others blame bad drivers. To be honest, I never pay too much attention to driving times to and from places, so I tried an experiment, riding up and down Monroe Street in between Apalachee Parkway and Sessions Road.
What I found was the drive out of downtown just before lunch took around 10.5 minutes and the drive back into downtown in the middle of lunchtime took 13. How could my drive time change that much going out of town versus going into downtown. It's the same distance in theory.
I asked around the Florida State University to see what students who drive thought of city traffic patterns.
"There's like so many [signals] on Stadium [Drive]", said Kayla Nelson. "To drive two miles, it takes like 20 minutes." Blake Stricklan of FSU also added, "Those traffic lights can be a nuisance when you need to get somewhere in a hurry."
Yes, they can be. But there are some things to look out for to help you understand why those lights seem to be the biggest bullies of your day. The city of Tallahassee Traffic Management changes patterns around 7-9 times a day. In the end, it all simply depends on what time of day you choose to drive.
