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INRIX Predicts Increase of Thanksgiving and Black Friday Traffic for Malls, Airports and Cities
[November 24, 2015]

INRIX Predicts Increase of Thanksgiving and Black Friday Traffic for Malls, Airports and Cities


KIRKLAND, Wash., Nov. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanksgiving travel and Black Friday shopping are synonymous with turkey dinner and football for many American families. The 2015 INRIX Thanksgiving Traffic Forecast predicts the country's busiest malls will experience an average 63 percent increase in traffic on Black Friday during peak hours. Travelers going to major airports on November 25 should allow up to 50 extra minutes of travel time, not including the added time needed to brave the crowded security lines.

Black Friday Shopping Center Forecast

The common perception is that shoppers must go early to snag the best deals, creating traffic challenges, appears to be a Black Friday myth. INRIX estimates that traffic levels around America's busiest shopping centers will peak during the early afternoon, specifically 12:00-3:00p.m. Shoppers hoping to avoid crowds and traffic delays should either head out early or visit their favorite store before closing time.

The INRIX Thanksgiving Traffic Forecast identified the Top 11 Busiest U.S. Shopping Centers, their peak congestion hours and the percentage change over 2014.





Top 11 Busiest US Shopping Centers

YoY Increase of Travel Time

Worst Time for Traffic

Extra Time at Worst Hour

Palisades Center, West Nyack, NY

46%

12PM-4PM

250%

Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, NJ

26%

2PM-6PM

53%

The Galleria, Houston, TX

25%

3PM-6PM

110%

Roosevelt Field, Garden City, NY

14%

12PM-3PM

67%

Sawgrass Mills, Sunrise, FL

12%

1PM-3PM

31%

Tyson's Corner Center, McLean, VA

11%

4PM-5PM

50%

Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA

10%

12PM-3PM

12%

Del Amo Fashion Center, Torrance, CA

7%

12PM-1PM

17%

Mall of America, Minneapolis, MN

6%

2PM-3PM

15%

Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, IL

4%

7AM-8AM

12%

King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA

4%

5PM-7PM

8%


 

Additionally, the graph below depicts the values of six popular shopping centers with the most significant Delay Index predictions. During peak hours, drivers heading to the Palisades Center in West Nyack, New York will spend up to 250 percent longer than usual in mall traffic.

Mall Traffic - Black Friday

 

Where to Find Parking Near Popular Shopping Districts

For individuals who decide to venture out on Black Friday, finding parking in urban shopping districts may be a tricky and expensive endeavor, as the average rate to park around the country is ten dollars per hour. The following chart illustrates the best place to find parking in seven popular shopping areas.

City

Average Hourly Price

Average Daily Price

Nearby Parking Lots

Best Place

 to Park

Times Available

Union Square, 
San Francisco, CA

$10.72

$24.43

20

560 Geary St

24 hours

Third Street Promenade,
Los Angeles, CA

$7.99

$14.89

27

Public Parking Structure #6

24 hours

Pacific Place,
Seattle, WA

$8.43

$21.96

33

Pacific Place Garage

24 Hours

Horton Plaza,
San Diego, CA

$14.04

$27.83

22

Westfield Horton Plaza Garage 

24 Hours

Fanueil Hall,
Boston, MA

$18.13

$35.35

47

60 State Street

24 hours

Magnificent Mile,
Chicago, IL

$19.57

$32.18

126

The Allerton Hotel Lot

24 hours

Main Street District,
Dallas, TX

$3.92

$7.66

16

1400 Elm St

6am-2am

 

Top 13 Busiest Airport Routes

Key routes to and from major airports nationwide have an increase in traffic congestion and result in significant bottlenecks for drivers planning to fly out of town. For example, travelers in the vicinity of the Chicago O'Hare Airport may experience an additional 50-minute trip delay. Although drivers heading to airports such as Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Houston are expected to experience shorter delays than last year, their overall trip time is still expected to be longer than usual.

"Drivers en route to West Coast airports such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas will experience the largest spikes in traffic between 7:00 and 10:00a.m.," says Greg Hallsworth, INRIX's Lead Scientist and Traffic Analyst. "In contrast, East Coast commuters should generally avoid traveling to airports 4:00-6:00p.m."

Metro Airport

Airport Route

Distance

Peak Hours

Travel Time

Expected Delay

Change YoY

Chicago O'Hare

Downtown to O'Hare via Kennedy Exwy W

16.8 miles

12-6PM

73 min

50 min

+87.2%

New York JFK

Hunters Point to JFK via Long Island Exwy E

15.2 miles

3-7PM

60 min

36 min

+33.3%

Las Vegas

Las Vegas to McCarran Int Airport via I-15 S

8.2 miles

7-10AM & 3-5PM

40 min

30 min

+90.4%

Miami

Downtown to Miami via Dolphin Exwy W

6.2 miles

3-7PM

39 min

31 min

+34.4%

LAX

Downtown to LAX via I-110 S

17.3 miles

7-9AM

37.5 min

15 min

+1.3%

Charlotte

Downtown To Charlotte Douglas International Airport

10.4 miles

9-10AM & 4-7PM

37 min

20 min

+85.0%

Dallas-Ft Worth

Downtown to DFW Airport via TX-183 W

18.2 miles

4-6PM

36 min

17 min

+9.1%

Denver

Downtown to DIA via I-70 E and Pena Blvd

19.7 miles

3-7PM

35 min

10 min

-7.9%

Houston Bush

Downtown to Intercontinental via US-59 N

17.2 miles

1-4PM

29 min

11 min

-44.2%

Phoenix

Phoenix to Sky Harbor Airport via I-10 E

6.5 miles

7-9AM & 3-5PM

23 min

12 min

+21.1%

SeaTac

Downtown to Sea-Tac via I-5 South

15.1 miles

3-4PM

22 min

3 min

-56.0%

San Francisco

Downtown to SFO via US-101 S

10.4 miles

5-7PM

16 min

3 min

-11.1%

Atlanta

Downtown to Hartsfield Atlanta via I-75 S

8.2 miles

8-9AM

13 min

3 min

-72.2%

 

Airport Routes - Eve of Thanksgiving

 

Top 13 Busiest Cities for Thanksgiving Traffic

Families planning road trips on Wednesday can expect the journey getting out of town to be at least 21 percent longer than normal. The pre-Thanksgiving rush hour is expected to start a full four hours earlier than on a typical work day. The peak travel times across America will range between 12:00 and 5:00p.m., compared to 3:00-5:00p.m. last year.

San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego top this year's list of worst traffic cities with out-of-town trips expected to take 36-44 percent longer than a typical Wednesday afternoon. Notably, San Diego's ranking jumped from 11th to 4th place while both Washington, D.C. and Philly's rankings dropped six spots to 12th and 13th place, respectively.

Rank

Metropolitan Area

Rank    Last Year

2014 Peak Time

2015 Peak Time

Additional Trip Time

Change YoY

1

San Francisco

4

3PM-4PM

2:30PM-4:30 PM

44%

+1.4%

2

Los Angeles

1

3PM-5PM

2:30PM-5PM

42%

+1.2%

3

Seattle

5

3PM-4PM

3PM-5PM

37.5%

+1.6%

4

San Diego

11

3PM-5PM

2:30PM-4:30 PM

36.5%

+1.7%

5

Boston

8

2:30PM- 4:30PM

3:30PM-5:30PM

36%

+1.7%

6

Portland OR

2

3PM-4PM

4PM-6PM

33.5%

+0.9%

7

New York

3

3PM-5PM

2:30PM-5PM

32%

+1.6%

8

Hartford CT

13

3PM-4PM

1PM-2:30PM

31.5%

+0.3%

9

Miami

9

3:30PM- 5:30PM

4PM-5:30PM

28%

+0.4%

10

Chicago

14

3PM-4PM

4:30PM-6PM

25%

+1.6%

11

Houston

10

3PM-4PM

4PM-5:30PM

24.5%

+1.2%

12

Washington D.C.

6

2PM-4PM

2PM-4PM

23.5%

+0.9%

13

Philadelphia

7

3PM-4PM

12PM-1:30PM

21%

+1.4%

 

"In order to avoid the most traffic congestion, we advise drivers to leave either before noon or after 6 p.m. on Wednesday," says Hallsworth. "On average, drivers across the busiest cities will experience a 32 percent increase in their trip time."

The below chart illustrates that West Coast cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and San Diego have become increasingly more congested. Drivers from East Coast cities such as Boston, New York and Hartford will also experience the largest traffic congestion. As a comparison, San Francisco will experience a 44 percent delay, the busiest city on the East Coast, Boston, will have a 36 percent increase in average trip time.

Thanksgiving Eve - West Coast Cities

 

Thanksgiving Eve - East Coast Cities

For travelers wishing to stay up to date on the latest traffic conditions during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the INRIX XD™ app provides free, up-to-the-minute insight into current traffic. Drivers interested in finding or reserving available parking should download the ParkMe app.

Traffic Forecast Methodology

INRIX analyzed the Thanksgiving holiday periods from 2010 to 2014, traffic trends from major national holiday weekends in 2013 and current traffic trends to predict what drivers might expect over the upcoming holiday weekend. In measuring the shifts in traffic congestion over this period, INRIX uses a common measure for congestion called the Travel Time Index referred to in our research as a percentage representing the amount of delay drivers can expect on these days due to traffic.

About INRIX

INRIX is one of the fastest growing big data technology companies in the world. The company leverages big data analytics to reduce the individual, economic and environmental toll of traffic congestion.  Through cutting-edge data intelligence and predictive traffic technologies, INRIX helps leading automakers, fleets, governments and news organizations make it easier for drivers to navigate their world.

Our vision is simple – to solve traffic, empower drivers, inform planning and enhance commerce.  Whether through an in-car or smartphone navigation application, a local newscast or our INRIX Traffic app, our up-to-the-minute traffic information and other driver services help millions of drivers save time, fuel and frustration. INRIX delivers traffic and driving-related insight, as well as sophisticated analytical tools and services to 400 customers, on five million miles (8 million km) of road in 42 countries. For more information, visit us at INRIX.com or download our INRIX XD Traffic App for iOS and Android.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151123/290477

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151123/290478

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151123/290559

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151123/290558

 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inrix-predicts-increase-of-thanksgiving-and-black-friday-traffic-for-malls-airports-and-cities-300183840.html

SOURCE INRIX


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