Congestion slows Sydney motorists to 11km/h

It's supposed to be rush hour, but long-suffering Sydney drivers on popular commuter routes are barely travelling at a snail's pace.

Weekday motorists battling clogged roads and motorways are forced to cope with average speeds as low as 11km/h on Sydney's worst route on the the Princes Highway, latest figures from the Roads and Maritime Services' Roads Report show.

The quarterly statistics reveal that it takes motorists an average of more than 48 minutes to travel on an 8km stretch of that highway between Arncliffe and the city during the morning peak. That route includes congested King St at Newtown.

Figures measured between September 30 and November 30 show that those making the journey home on the Princes Highway in the evening fare little better with the average speed reaching just 13.4km/h.

Notoriously busy inner-city Cleveland St, running between Sydney University at Darlington and Moore Park, recorded an average speed of just 13.9km/h during the morning rush hour, a slight increase on the average speed during the previous three months.

The RMS Roads report shows it is taking motorists a frustratingly slow 15 minutes to travel just 2.8km.

Motorway speeds are slow, with the M4 between Concord and Clyde, where the speed limits are 100km/h, down to 48.4km/h in the evenings.

Morning drivers on the M5 and M5 East have to contend with speeds that average 51.4km/h, while they can reach 54.5km/h on the homeward journey.

North Shore and Eastern Suburbs drivers are also not missing out on traffic snarls. Evening peak speeds on the Pacific Highway between Roseville and Pymble are averaging 17km/h while on Alison Rd near Randwick, morning motorists are crawling along at an average 16.6km/h.

NRMA President, Kyle Loades predicts traffic congestion will ease on major arteries once the NSW government builds the WestConnex and NorthConnex motorways and opens the north-west and south-west rail links.

"There are a number of short-term fixes we could be implementing," he said.

Sydney's worst commuter roads 

Slowest AM peak hour speeds, km/h
Princes Highway (Arncliffe to City) - 11
Cleveland St (Darlington-Moore Park) - 13.9
Alison Rd (Randwick to Moore Park) - 16.6
Military, Spit Rds (Balgowlah-Cammeray) - 16.8
Milperra Rd (Liverpool to Newtown) - 19.4

Slowest PM peak hour speeds, km/h
Princes Hway (City to Arncliffe) - 13.4
Pacific Hway (Roseville to Pymble) - 17
Pacific Hway (Lane Cove to Roseville) - 18.2
O'Riordan St (Mascot to Alexandria) - 18.4
Milperra Rd (Newtown to Liverpool) - 18.7

Source: Roads and Maritime