Philly Traffic Is Even Worse Than Bangkok’s
Plus, the New York Times with an unexpected best pizza pick in Philly.
Bangkok traffic has nothing on Philadelphia traffic, according to a new report (Getty Images)
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Philly Traffic Is Now Even Worse Than the Traffic In Bangkok
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Bangkok or had the misfortune of trying to drive a car or motorbike there, but if you have, you know this truth to be self-evident: The traffic in Bangkok is really, really, really bad. But it turns out that the traffic in Philadelphia is even worse.
This is according to a new traffic report published by INRIX, a company that specializes in such things. According to INRIX’s new Global Traffic Scorecard, which includes 2023 data as well as an update for the first quarter of 2024, Philadelphia is the 13th worst urban area in the world for traffic delays, based on their metric of the number of hours the average driver is delayed by traffic. The report says that statistic is 69 hours in Philadelphia, compared to 63 hours in Bangkok. As far as U.S. cities are concerned, Philadelphia ranks sixth worst, topped by New York (101 hours), Chicago (96), Los Angeles (89), Boston (88), and Miami (70).
No word on how much of this traffic problem is caused by double-parking Amazon trucks and Uber drivers. But I’m guessing their contribution is not insignificant,
Philadelphia tied Atlanta and Washington D.C. for second place in terms of an increase in trips downtown over the previous year. Those trips increased in number by seven percent, bested only by New York, which saw an increase of 13 percent.
You can see the whole report for yourself here.
Return to Sender?
What do you do when you’ve donated body parts to a museum that’s all about displaying body parts (I am, of course, talking about the Mütter Museum), but then said museum decides it’s no longer displaying body parts? You ask for your body parts back. Philly Mag’s Malcolm Burnley dug into the changes happening at the storied museum last fall.
The New York Times Heads to Philly for Pizza
And what pizza place did they visit for their “22 of the Best Pizza Places in the United States” feature? No, not Beddia. Nor Tacconelli’s. Nor Down North … The Times featured San Lucas Pizzeria in South Philly. Want to go today to check it out? Too bad. They’re closed on Wednesdays! But don’t worry: They reopen tomorrow. Let me know how it is. I’m particularly interested in their pizza al pastor.
By the Numbers
50: Number of rooms in Philly’s newest hotel, Fishtown’s soon-to-debut Hotel Anna & Bel. (Bit of interesting Philly trivia: The property once housed the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women.) There’s also a pool. Bonus: It’s a 15-minute walk or 5-minute Uber from this new Polish joint, a much-needed addition to the Philly dining scene, says this guy who loves Polish food.
91 percent: Decrease in traffic tickets written by Philadelphia police officers over the last quarter of a century. And something tells me that it’s not because Philadelphians have suddenly become good drivers. Maybe all the cops are stuck in that aforementioned Philly traffic?
0: After today, that’s the number of days in the next seven days with highs in the 90s, according to the latest forecast. Which is just fine with me after today’s abhorrent weather.
Local Talent
Philly songwriting giants Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff get the tribute treatment this Friday at the Dell Music Center. The Black Music Month 45th Anniversary Celebration Concert + Fireworks event features a long lost of Philly talent young and not-so-young, with a focus on Gamble & Huff’s legendary Sound of Philadelphia. If you need to familiarize yourself a bit more with just what the Sound of Philadelphia is all about, check out my 2021 oral history, which includes contributions from the likes of Patti LaBelle, Jerry Blavat (RIP), John Oates, Patty Jackson and, of course, both Gamble and Huff.
