Why the traffic seems so bad in New Jersey lately

Unless you’re driving in the middle of the day or in the middle of the night, you probably notice there are lots and lots of cars on the road these days.

Rush hour used to start at 5 o’clock. Now it seems like everybody’s on the road by 3. Yes, school is in session and school buses are hitting the road. But there is something else going on.

If you ever wonder how all those apartment complexes suddenly sprouted up in the last few years, well, houses are too expensive and people need a place to live. Those who’ve been holding onto land for years are cashing in and builders are building apartments for people who need a place to live. 

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I spoke to a business owner who is just across the highway from several huge apartment buildings that went up in a fairly rural part of a small South Jersey town.

He said when he leaves his shop at 6 o’clock, it’s total gridlock.

Towns in New Jersey have seen a lot of their open space gobbled up by these big apartment complexes.

Most of those people have cars and most of those people get on the road every day like you and me. Even slower, more quiet parts of New Jersey seem to be choked with cars on the road just about any time of the day except late at night. It’s not your imagination.

There are more cars and a lot more people who probably now live in your town in those big apartment complexes at the edge of town. Suburban New Jersey traffic is getting worse and it's best we get used to it.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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