We're used to Zurich being number 1 in the world (ie place to live) but last week came a poor 16th..... 16th place on the chart for worst traffic congestion. (see http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_ne...l?cid=30634398)

Seems to me it's getting worse. I travel each day on the A53, which zooms out of Zurich down to Aathal where it grinds to a halt at the Uster junction and then it's a crawl all the way through Wetzikon and Hinwil. The last week or so a 25km journey has taken me one hour Anyone know if there are plans to join the A53 up ever?

(Please resist the temptation to suggest taking public transport instead - I just like my car)

Well, that's what I've been saying for the longest...these living standard studies, among other things, don't incorporate traffic/capita.

Your first post since joining in 2008? That makes you EF's shyest member I reckon?

The situation isn't good back there, but it's presently worse because they've blocked off Fehraltorf for thru traffic for roadworks, so all the vehicles that used to head towards ZH and Winti via Pfäffikon now have to route from the Aathal as well before joining the freeway east of Uster. And earlier this week there was a crunch near Hinwil and gridlock ensued.

The Oberland Autobahn missing section is due for completion in 2015, it's taken that long because of a lack of finance and too many objections that all have to be processed via the legal system. Maybe you can treat your grandkids to the opening if it ever does get completed. You know who to vote for if you want decent new road projects completed this fall.

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Crash your karma into little bits of happiness

Why not exit at Uster West and then join the A52 at Egg. Longer than no traffic but it will certainly get you to Bubikon in less than an hour.

I was thinking of trying Uster way, or maybe Forch via Fallenden. I'll check it out this evening.

To be honest - the hour is also partly caused as we moved to Oberduernten, so I have to go through Hinwil as well

Proud to be EF's shyest member - just never had anything to complain about till now!

Avoid Fallanden at all costs during rush hour. If you are going to Oberdurnten, the cut across to the A52 will save you the Hinwil traffic too as you can just take the Betholz junction towards Rappi and get the exit for Durnten.

Tip from a neighbour!

Thanks for the tip Nachbar!

I still remember how road traffic in the Zürich area was back in about 1974, when it was VERY light in comparison to now. The route from Zürich-Wollishofen to the airport by car in average-times of the day could be covered in 23 to 33 minutes back then but already in 2008 needed between 28 and 45 minutes. Former City President Estermann pushed the expansion of the Tram- and the Sbahn-Networks as he already 10 years ago forecast that Zürich would get stuck in road-congestions.

Sure, the Uster-Wetzikon stretch is planned to get closed but the Greens (not only those in the Green Party) try everything to delay that program, as they realize that they this way can "strangle" the car-drivers.

No, generally however, the road-traffic-situation in the Zurich area is to become WORSE, not just as the construction of highways generally is a decade behind the requirement, but also as it is practically impossible to extend the road-network up to requirement. There of course are projects like the road-tunnel under the Lake of Zürich (Kilchberg-Küsnacht or Thalwil-Erlenbach) and an additional car-ferry (Kilchberg-Zollikon or Kilchberg-Küsnacht). While the tunnel even if approved will take half a century to be built, the car-ferry could be implemented within 2 or 3 years. But nothing goes ahead at present.

So, no, Zürich is likely to move ahead into the top 10s in regard to road-traffic congestion.


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Neither do they include the narrowness of some places nor the bad weather. But do not forget that many of those researchers
- sit in narrow towns/cities
- sit in air-conditioned offices all day long
-- and stay in air-conditioned gyms/fitness-places the rest of time
- sit in towns/cities with extreme roadtraffic-congestions
-
and many of them are "Greens" anyway


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2015 sounds good, even if 4 years ahead. But that will at least close what I regard as the "Highways-ring of Zurich" . But as Moritz Leuenberger already emphasized when still being Bundesrat is that the "Nordring" is simply not sufficient for the requirements.

So that President Estermann was right when saying that Zürich in regard to road-traffic has and will have problems extremely difficult to solve in the short-term.


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Yes that's because back then nobody would even dream of living in Oberdürnten when one was working in Zurich.

A good point - actually when we moved here 3 years ago our landlord was amazed that we would even consider driving half an hour to work. Being used to UK journeys from Hertfordshire to London - now that would give him the panics!

Wolli, this is almost as good as "I can remember when this was all just fields" and they used to let us walk across the runway at Kloten to get the Connie pilots' autographs. Priceless.

When I was a kid in Thalwil, up on the Etzliberg it really was all fields and then people starting wanting stuff like schools and modern housing. There's just glass and concrete where we used to play.

There were plans for a Lake Zurich road tunnel somewhere between Zollikon and Wollishofen already in the mid 'sixties. I have printed evidence.

I think "runway" is an exagguration Assassin

That's in the USA, your avatar is now looking rather female and it's exaggeration for the spelling. Three counts and you're out.....

Wasn't he the one with the shiny helmet?

Driving (or train-travelling) half an hour for work however already was quite common in the 1970ies. So that your landlord either is a fairly old chap or a real rural boy

I abstained from any "all just fields" remarks, but sure, when walking from Wollishofen on the "upper side" towards Kilchberg and Thalwil, you were in agro-country within 10 minutes (5 mins. by bike), and I between 1990 and 2009 worked in a building where I had seen fields and cows back in the late 60ies.

Btw., the Restaurant Etzliberg was a favourite of my mother for many years !