HOUSTON – As expected, overall we’re still down in terms of volume compared to last year, but according to Houston Transtar, the latest numbers for August show folks traveling during afternoon peak times might not know it.
During the morning peak hours, volumes remain lower than normal. Houston Transtar estimates 10 to 15% lower, to be exact, area-wide when comparing August 2019 to 2020.
When looking at one particular stretch of roadway in a 24-hour period, volumes were down nearly 20% when traveling on the Katy Freeway near Voss compared to last year.
However, weekday afternoon peak numbers are seeing an uptick. Houston Transtar even says volumes are pretty much in line with what we saw in 2019.
This same stretch of roadway, Katy Freeway at Voss, afternoon volumes were only down 2% in the afternoon compared to last year.
Overall, when it comes to vehicle traffic volumes, the impacts of the pandemic are still being felt.
We’ll be watching closely as more and more businesses expand their capacity for certain services and of course, we’ll need to watch what happens with schools and learning options in the coming months and how that will impact travel patterns.