Grand Junction Rush Hour: Patterson Gets the Nod Over North
When you're trying to get home as quickly as possible and your choices are Patterson or North, which route is going to get you to the dinner table sooner?
Before discussing the results of my recent Facebook poll on the subject, let's just go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room - Grand Junction rush hour.
You mention rush hour in Grand Junction and some will scoff. These are generally people who have lived in the big city and know what it's like to have a commute of 45 minutes or more. I have to say, even though it's on a much smaller scale, Grand Junction does have rush hour traffic.
If you have ever driven on North Avenue or Patterson between 5:00 and 5:30 in the afternoon, you know what I'm talking about. The volume of traffic is substantially higher than at other times of the day. A lot of people are getting off of work, they are hitting the road - yes, it is rush hour.
While we all realize I-70 and I-70B are route options, for the sake of this discussion the options were narrowed to North and Patterson.
So, which of those two roads will get you home the fastest? Here's what the jury had to say.
Thanks to those giving North Avenue some support, but from here on out, it looks like Patterson is getting all of the votes,
I would have to side with the Patterson voters on this for one main reason. On Patteson, you virtually have unlimited space for those making left turns, where on North Avenue, each left-hand turn lane is limited, which can lead to a blockage of left lane traffic until those cars can turn.
The reality is, there's probably not a significant difference in time no matter which way you go. But, just for the record, if there is a better route - Patterson is it.