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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Traffic on the streets of Austin has returned to nearly 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1.83 million drivers were on the streets of Austin in February 2020. The latest data shows 1.62 million drivers on the roads.
Traffic since January 2020. Source: Austin Transportation Department
These numbers represent some of Austin’s busiest corridors in the entire city, such as Parmer Lane, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Slaughter Lane.
However, Austin Transportation Department staff said this traffic is different from typical rush hour traffic. They don’t see the typical high point they would see every day during morning and evening rush hours.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Austin returns 80% of pre-pandemic traffic as more stores and schools open
Instead, they describe the traffic as constant. A constant flow of vehicles all day. Officials believe that these distributed traffic trends can persist if people continue to follow a “flexible schedule”.
“And if we try alternative modes of transportation, we can really try to mitigate some of the traffic jams we see in our city,” said Jen Duthie, chief engineer with the Austin Transportation Department.
Due to the new traffic flow, the data shows that travel times remain low.
Travel times since February 2020. Source: Austin Transportation Department
They anticipate traffic will return 100% to pre-pandemic levels by this fall once the kids return to school campuses.
KXAN has also checked in with TxDOT to find out the current traffic volume on our highways. TxDOT says traffic in the Austin area is back to 96%.
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