These were voted the worst times and places to drive in Metro Vancouver

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Metro Vancouver has some stunning qualities, from its mountain views to magnificent beaches, but it’s hard to enjoy the view when you’re stuck in traffic and cursing the rush-hour mess.

According to the TomTom Traffic Index, a report from the Netherlands, drivers in Vancouver spent an average of 208 hours driving in 2023 — 90 hours of that time was spent in congestion.

Turns out, many drivers are pretty grumpy about it (to put it mildly), and some are downright livid about some areas of their commute.

But what’s the most brutal stretch for bumper-to-bumper delays?

We asked Daily Hive Urbanized readers what the worst spots and times were for drivers trying to get around Metro Vancouver, and we’ve rounded up the most (un)popular choices.

Worst time of day to drive

According to readers, while some said the morning rush hour traffic was notable, a whopping number of people were more concerned about the evening traffic.

A staggering amount of people said the busiest hours to drive were from 4 pm to 6 pm (with 5 pm being the busiest hour).

A chart of Daily Hive Urbanized readers votes for the worst time of day for drivers to get around Metro Vancouver (Daily Hive)

Readers’ votes were similar to the TomTom Traffic Index, which similarly found driving in the evening from 4 pm to 6 pm caused drivers to spend a longer time in traffic.

The index even went further, saying that Thursday between 5 pm and 6 pm had the worst rush hour. That drive could take as long as 31 minutes just to go 10 kilometres.

Worst areas to drive

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Vancouver

According to TomTom, the busiest street in 2023 in Vancouver was Oak Street, likely because it feeds off Highway 99, bringing thousands daily from Delta, Surrey, Richmond, and more. It’s also almost the geographic centre of the city.

But, lots of you had your own ideas.

It’s been tough for people who regularly drive down West Broadway amid the ongoing Broadway Subway construction. Readers say it can be challenging to get from one destination to another, especially near Cambie and West Broadway.

Not too far from West Broadway, drivers usually headed through Terminal Avenue and Main Street also complain of traffic congestion at peak hours. Some folks said it can even be hard heading down Main Street towards East Broadway.

Not far from the traffic surrounding Main Street-Science World Station, drivers said they usually find themselves in congestion on E 1st Avenue from Clark Street to Rupert Street. One person mentioned that First Avenue in downtown Vancouver is their “worst nightmare!” This route, of course, connects thousands of drivers who are headed towards areas like Burnaby and Surrey to the Trans-Canada Highway.

Meanwhile, for folks headed into Richmond, people reported that traffic would pile up around Knight Street near E 41st Ave just before the bridge.

North Vancouver

Many readers heading to and from North Vancouver had one thing in common: their disdain for the traffic leading up to crossing the Iron Workers Bridge.

One person claimed that some days it could be an “absolute gridlock” throughout North Vancouver and for feeder routes that link to the Ironworkers Bridge.

“You can’t run errands or get kids to local activities because the bridge snarls neighbourhoods,” they said.

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Richmond

Locals said the Knight Street Bridge was infuriating no matter the direction. However, one driver added that what is especially difficult is when drivers in Richmond need to merge off Bridgeport Road towards the bridge. They said this merge can be challenging.

Burnaby, New Westminster, and Surrey

Many drivers mentioned that for people headed down Highway 1 from Vancouver to Surrey, traffic usually was congested in the Burnaby area from Grandview Highway and Gaglardi Way.

For people travelling in the inner city of New Westminster and Delta Nordel Way until Queensborough, it is also reportedly challenging during rush hour.

Lower Mainland bridges

Driving on the Lions Gate Bridge. (Shutterstock)

An overwhelming number of responses from readers mentioned one or several bridges in the Lower Mainland were especially frustrating to drive on when traffic was backed up.

The bridges mentioned included:

Iron Workers Memorial Bridge
Alex Fraser Bridge
Port Mann Bridge
Lions Gate Bridge
Knight Street Bridge
Queensborough Bridge
Pattullo Bridge
Arthur Laing Bridge
Oak Street Bridge

Do any other terrible areas to drive during rush hour come to mind that you want to share? Tell us about it here or drop a comment below.

With files from Megan Devlin