You're not imagining it: Seattle traffic got worse in 2023

You're not imagining things if it feels like driving in Seattle is getting worse and the windows to avoid traffic are shrinking.

Why it matters: Traffic congestion not only wastes time, money and fuel, it can also raise stress and impact mental and physical health.

• Blood pressure can go up just from sitting in traffic — not from aggravation, but from the air pollution inhaled .

The big picture: Peak-time drivers in the Seattle-Everett-Bellevue area lost 58 hours to congestion in 2023, up from 46 hours in 2022, according to the annual Global Traffic Scorecard from Kirkland-based Inrix, released this week.

What they did: The report uses data from 300 million vehicles and devices globally to analyze metrics including delays, speeds at peak times versus low-traffic periods, and the time it takes to get to and from major employment centers.

State of play: Inrix reported that Seattle has the 10th-worst traffic delays in the U.S. and the 27th-worst in the world among 947 urban areas analyzed.

Yes, but: Seattle traffic is still below pre-COVID levels, down 11% from 2019.

• The region's relatively high percentage of remote and hybrid workers means it's taken a bit longer in some cases to get workers back into their offices, but they're getting back on the roads now, study author Bob Pishue told the Seattle Times .

Zoom out: The typical U.S. driver lost 42 hours to traffic last year, the equivalent of a full-time work week, per the report.

• Congestion cost the U.S. more than $70.4 billion in lost productivity last year, a 15% increase from 2022, per the report.
• Transit ridership is down 28% from 2019 levels, the analysis found.

What they're saying: "I feel like every morning or when I'm coming home, it gets a bit more crowded," South King County commuter Anthony Martinez told KIRO 7 .

The intrigue: Pishue told Axios that driving commute patterns have shifted toward a new normal with a midday peak between 10am and 2pm that has surpassed the morning commute in terms of volume.