Traffic and transportation in PA, MA, TX, CA, IN, IA, OH, MN, and NY

[Micro115]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if some of you can give me your input on what traffic and transportation are like in certain cities. Right now, I have way too many programs on my ERAS, so I really need a way to narrow it down. I'm pretty adaptable in general, but one thing that I think will make my life so much easier is if I can get to and from work everyday by car and not encounter ridiculous traffic jams (like the ones I faced when I used to live in Chicago). Of course, I know this all depends on how close I live to the hospital.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me about how bad traffic is (e.g., are you stuck in a traffic jam for hours??) and if most people use public transportation (vs. your own car b/c parking is so hard to find) for the following cities:

Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Boston, MA
Houston, TX
Dallas, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Palo Alto, CA
San Francisco, CA
Bronx, NY
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Akron, OH
Indianapolis, IN
Iowa City, IA
Minneapolis, MN
Ann Arbor, MI
Detroit, MI

Thank you!

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[DO2009]

Dallas, TX

The vast majority of people drive in Dallas, which does make for some rush hour traffic -- general slow downs, accidents, etc. However, you should not expect delays over 30 mins under most circumstances.
Dallas has increased its mass transit system in recent years. There is a train that goes from Fort Worth to Dallas and has several stops along the way. There is a stop that is right outside of Parkland (the main teaching hospital for UTSouthwestern). There is also a DART (light rail) that has expanded. Theoritically you could use the transit system if you chose to, but once again most people drive.

 

[Winged Scapula]

San Francisco

Excellent public transportation; almost no one drives. Parking is at a premium so if you do, expect drives around the block multiple times when you come home unless the spot in front of the garage (if you have one) is yours.

 

[yaah]

Ann Arbor is not a big city but has some issues with available parking. Good bus system and med school/university hospital is close to downtown so you can just walk if you live close. Most commutes are less than 15-20 minutes unless you live closer to Detroit. Detroit is terrible. Get a car, preferably an old car. Plenty of parking in general though unless you are right downtown. Nothing is really close to detroit except for Detroit itself. All of the suburbs are it seems at least 30 minutes away not including traffic.

Indianapolis is fairly pleasant. Moderate sized downtown, not incredibly crowded. The hospitals and med school are at the edge of the city, on the IUPUI campus, and it is easy to get around there. You are not likely to be stuck in traffic for long compared to other places.

Boston is terrible (expensive) if you want to have a car. Public transportation is decent if you live near a place that has access to it. If you live outside the city commuting will be long.

Iowa City is not crowded except for the immediate downtown. Most people live very close and commuting is not a hassle.

 

[dragonfly99]

Agree w/above comment about San Francisco.
However, housing around USCF and California Pacific, 2 of the main residency programs, is pretty expensive (especially Cal Pac, with is in fancy north San Francisco area...), so you might end up commuting across town at least. You'd probably be using public transport.

Palo Alto is basically a suburban area. It's quite expensive also from what I know. The Stanford campus is really, really big (used to be a horse farm). I'm not sure exactly where their hospital is (? on main campus). I would think there would be enough parking lots, but I really don't know. I think a lot of people on Palo Alto drive cars, since my friend who was PhD with no car found it challenging to get around without a car...in terms of not that much public transport I think. A lot of the students and grad students ride bikes, apparently.

Indianapolis I have been to and it isn't THAT huge of a city. The medical center is pretty nice. There was morning rush hour traffic when I went there, but it didn't seem that hideous. Also I think that you could live pretty close to campus if you wanted to.

 

[BlondeDocteur]

Bronx, NY: You don't need a car, as there is a great subway and bus transportation system. The transportation network is not as dense as Manhattan, obviously, so there will be more walking to get from A to B. You *could* theoretically have a car with street parking-- but that has its own hassles (vandalism, finding a spot, theft). I would recommend against it-- traffic can be unbearable if you have to take one of the main commuter routes into the City, whereas the subway will always get you into work in a predictable amount of time.

A lot of students at Einstein say they feel the nearest subway stop is creepy and dangerous at night, since it's a bit of a walk to the hospital/housing complex.

 

[DO_Surgeon]

Iowa City, IA

Driving is not a problem here. You can get almost anywhere in about 10-15 minutes. Parking for the most part is a non-issue with the exception of hospital parking. Depending on your program you will be assigned a lot, and then you may have to take a shuttle to the hospital. I have heard the shuttle can be anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Thankfully I get to park across the street and have a five minute walk. The real big issue occurs on Football weekends. The hospital is across the street from the football stadium. So on Saturdays you get 75,000+ people tailgating, drinking, and partying around the hospital which makes for a mess. Thankfully it only occurs 6-7 Saturdays a year.

 

[deleted50478]

Houston has horrible traffic at rush hours BUT if you live inside the loop near work and make trips further away before or after rush hour, it is totally manageable. If you live out in the burbs traffic will suck bigtime.

 

[pseudoknot]

Los Angeles, CA: It really depends on where you are and what time you are traveling, but traffic will range from not that bad to horrific. (It's best to avoid freeways that end in 1 or 5 during daylight hours.) Public transportation is unusable, but most places will have parking.

 

[clancy81]

San Francisco

Excellent public transportation; almost no one drives. Parking is at a premium so if you do, expect drives around the block multiple times when you come home unless the spot in front of the garage (if you have one) is yours.

Current UCSF resident here. There are plenty of livable neighborhoods where street parking is not an issue if you are set on driving. There is not much of a problem street parking near SFGH and the VA if you don't want to pay for a parking permit, or you can just buy it and make your life easier. At Moffitt it's just easier to buy the parking permit since street parking near the hospital is tough. All of that said, public transit is a great option and can get you to all of the sites even very early in the morning, so if you don't want to drive you don't have to. UCSF also has an extensive shuttle system to get people around, though it doesn't run early enough for some folks who need to pre-round.

 

[fakin' the funk]

Boston, MA
Very good public transportation, if you live in the right spot(s). Driving and parking are certainly doable but you'll pay $$$$$ for it.

Los Angeles, CA
Everyone drives, everyone pays $$, there's no two ways about it.

Cleveland, OH
The only people who don't drive are the homeless. Parking is usually cheap.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Current UCSF resident here. There are plenty of livable neighborhoods where street parking is not an issue if you are set on driving. There is not much of a problem street parking near SFGH and the VA if you don't want to pay for a parking permit, or you can just buy it and make your life easier. At Moffitt it's just easier to buy the parking permit since street parking near the hospital is tough. All of that said, public transit is a great option and can get you to all of the sites even very early in the morning, so if you don't want to drive you don't have to. UCSF also has an extensive shuttle system to get people around, though it doesn't run early enough for some folks who need to pre-round.

Then clearly something has changed when I lived there because if I came home after 8 pm, I would have to park blocks away from my flat.

 

[clancy81]

Then clearly something has changed when I lived there because if I came home after 8 pm, I would have to park blocks away from my flat.

Yeah, it depends where you live. Cole Valley and the Inner Sunset can be tough to park. But if you go a bit further out in the Sunset, in most of the Richmond, Noe Valley, most of the Castro, Diamond Heights, Potrero Hill, and even parts of the Mission--all of which are a short drive to the UCSF sites-- it is very doable. There's always City CarShare if you want to use a car for shopping, short trips, etc and don't want to deal with insurance/gas/parking.

 

[Dejavu]

Why isn't Rochester, Minn (Mayo) on your list. If you are looking for no traffic problems and a good program, this is it.

 

[RTrain]

Pittsburgh - generally not a big commuting hassle, though rush hour can be a bear if you're crossing a bridge, where everything predictably bottlenecks. Parking is no problem downtown, where traffic generally flows well and there are many reasonably priced public lots and garages. Unfortunately, near the medical center parking isn't so awesome - mostly stalking up and down streets to find a spot at a meter. Obviously this isn't a problem if you're there to work, since you'll just park in your assigned garage or lot, but if you're just touring Oakland (the area where the University and UPMC are) it can be a pain.

 

[yeasterbunny]

Why isn't Rochester, Minn (Mayo) on your list. If you are looking for no traffic problems and a good program, this is it.

I would characterize driving through 4 feet of snow a "traffic problem."

 

[xanthines]

Case Western has pretty pricey parking, but it's about the same rip-off as other major universities. As far as traffic goes, there isn't much unless a bridge collapsed or something.

-X

Cleveland, OH
The only people who don't drive are the homeless. Parking is usually cheap.

 

[Llenroc]

Ohio cities have good expressway capacity and traffic flows better than most other places. The people here whine about it, but that's just because they haven't lived elsewhere.

Traffic in Detroit used to be reasonably good as well, but nowadays there's significant closures on the main expressway I-75 for construction.

Hardly anyone uses public transportation in Ohio or Michigan.

Pittsburgh is a bad city for traffic, and one of the worst cities IMO for winter driving.

The Bronx has reasonably good flow of traffic compared to New York's other boroughs.

Most of the bigger cities in Texas and California have bad traffic, often times even outside of rush hour.

 

[Steric]

Agree with above regarding Boston. Traffic and parking in Philly isn't bad at all in my opinion. Much easier to get around then the other major NE cities.

 

[J-Rad]

Iowa City, IA

Driving is not a problem here. You can get almost anywhere in about 10-15 minutes. Parking for the most part is a non-issue with the exception of hospital parking. Depending on your program you will be assigned a lot, and then you may have to take a shuttle to the hospital. I have heard the shuttle can be anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Thankfully I get to park across the street and have a five minute walk. The real big issue occurs on Football weekends. The hospital is across the street from the football stadium. So on Saturdays you get 75,000+ people tailgating, drinking, and partying around the hospital which makes for a mess. Thankfully it only occurs 6-7 Saturdays a year.

Unintended side perk of Iowa City: since regular parking is as above (and costs >$200/yr for a parking pass) scooters and motorcycles are popular modes of transportation. Motorcycle/scooter parking is right outside of the hospital next to Kinnick and costs ~$75/yr. There's a local community college that offers a MSF basic riders course as well. I've never been this close to convincing my wife to let me get a motorcycle .

 

[2ndyear]

Boston, MA
Daytime transit is pretty good. Subway nowhere near as good as New York though. But it works. Depending on your specialty you can get most places in the morning. Just not too early as it starts at 5:30. Surgery residents beware. Traffic isn't as bad as Chicago, but getting anywhere at 5pm and you'll have the usual snarls. Having a car downtown actually isn't that bad. You'll need a resident parking sticker, and don't bring anything new or that you don't want scratched. Beware street cleaning days and snow emergencies. Also angry neighbors when you park in 'their' spots that they shoveled in the winter, especially in southie.

Nice thing is that the best places to live are in town and in close proximity to a T stop. This makes getting around pretty easy. If you do want a garage spot the going rate is around $350/month. Lots of cheaper options on craigslist though, of course not inside or secured.

 

[HotelCo]

Detroit, MI:

Traffic is hit and miss here, depending on where you are at what time... it's great or crappy. One day at 5 at one spot it's great... the next... it sucks. Constant shifting construction on the interstate and major roads make traffic a problem sometimes. Public transportation is usually used for going to and from work by a small number or people.

 

[IndyXRT]

As mentioned above, Indianapolis is very managable. There is heavy rush-hour traffic from the northeast, but there are plenty of places to live in the north, west, south, and downtown that are easy commutes. I average 25 minutes from pulling out of my driveway to sitting down at my desk. As a resident, parking is free. If you have a clinic that starts at 9:00 or have to move your car during the day, it can be a pain. If you show up earlier (and most residents do), then parking is not a problem. Gridlock is very uncommon and is usually due to an accident and/or construction.