School Run Traffic.....any 'pattern' to it ?

[Dave7]

Grandaughter staying for 2 weeks so we have the school run twice each day.
Distance is aporox 4-5 miles but we live north Warrington and the school is south.....so there is no way of missing the traffic.
Being retired 7 years I had (happily) "forgotten" what its like.
However......
On Wednesday it was solid bumper to bumper and it took us 45 minutes.
Today we set off at 7:55........sailed through....and got there 8:15.
I honestly had to double check that we hadnt set off an hour early in error.
How does that work?

 

[palinurus]

Not sure but theres rarely much traffic on my commute on a Friday, I guess a lot of people work from home Fridays (they certainly do where I work)

 

[summerdays]

Avoid roads with schools on it and their nearby roads.... depending on the exact timing I can hit or miss the traffic for the PM school run just by being that 10 mins earlier it's a whole different experience. I hate it when I finish late and know I'm going to pass multiple schools at the wrong time.

 

[summerdays]

Not sure but theres rarely much traffic on my commute on a Friday, I guess a lot of people work from home Fridays (they certainly do where I work)

Yes definitely have that experience and I'm at home today so not taking advantage of the quieter roads.

 

[cosmicbike]

Same around here. SWMBO drives mini Miss CB to school (it's not walkable, or indeed rideable for them). Leaves 0755hrs, arrives in 10 minutes, then sits in car whilst mini Miss CB reads to her. Try to arrive for the 0845hrs school start and the journey is hell...

 

[vickster]

Less traffic on Fridays as above. I used to find Monday a bit less busy too when commuting by car (part timers seemingly usually not work Friday and/or Monday). Tues-Thurs much worse. Even more so when it's especially cold and utterly vile when raining (duvet day if it's snowing)!

I found traffic didn't make much difference to my commute time once I started cycling. More influenced by luck (or lack of) with lights and junctions

 

[Time Waster]

I start work at 8am so I'm driving through town before the traffic builds up. 5 minutes later takes 10 minutes longer. It's the difference between 20 and 30 minutes.

When I worked in a different but nearby company I could start whenever I wanted within reason any time from 7am to 9am start (occasionally 9:30 but no boss bothered so I wasn't). What I learnt was that the hour and half hour are crunch times. By that I mean it you're traveling round the town centre just before these half hourly time slots (with about 5 minutes or so parking time accounted for) you're in traffic. 5 minutes to one side it's either starting to build up or reduce. Then it repeated half hour later until about 10am I think.

There's always a pattern of sorts if you do the same trip enough to spot it IMHO.

 

[jayonabike]

The last drive back to the mail centre in my lorry is always quicker on a Friday night.

There's always a pattern of sorts if you do the same trip enough to spot it IMHO.

I drive the same route every day of the week and I see the same cars day after day.

 

[Moodyman]

There is clear pattern round here - a sizeable percentage drive their kids to school when the same journey would be less than 10 mins to walk.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I drive the same route every day of the week and I see the same cars day after day.

Yes, I also see the same people in the coffee shop before going into the office, although they sit in there & I go into the office, I presume they come in earlier to miss the traffic but unable to actually get into their offices or places of work.

I know if I can be out of the car park where I work before 4pm it can save me up to 30 minutes if I don't get out until after.

 

[mjr]

No bakfiets, tagalong or tandem bike? If you're doing the school run by car, can you perhaps guess why there might be too many cars around?

 

[vickster]

No bakfiets, tagalong or tandem bike? If you're doing the school run by car, can you perhaps guess why there might be too many cars around?

The OP is only doing it for 2 weeks. So any of those would be an excessive outlay
5 miles in heavy traffic with a tag along would be pretty scary for a little one surely? And cold!

 

[Deleted member 26715]

No bakfiets, tagalong or tandem bike? If you're doing the school run by car, can you perhaps guess why there might be too many cars around?

Edit:- @vickster beat me too it

 

[mjr]

The OP is only doing it for 2 weeks. So any of those would be an excessive outlay
5 miles in heavy traffic with a tag along would be pretty scary for a little one surely? And cold!

It was a question. Sometimes you can borrow something. And presumably they usually get to school somehow and hopefully that's not in a car. And there may be alternative routes (although I think Warrington has some people who are pretty vocal against cycling infrastructure) and you can wrap up warm... but regardless of all the excuses offered up and whether they're valid or not, if you take someone to school in a car, it's bizarre to then ask on a cycling forum why the roads are now so busy at school start/end times - just look in one of the car's mirrors for the answer!

 

[Deleted member 26715]

It was a question.

Followed by a dig, or that is the way it seemed to me