Jan 13, 2021
COVID-19 pandemic cut traffic congestion in most countries in 2020
This news has been received from: New York Post
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NEW YORK/LONDON – Coronavirus-induced lockdowns caused annual traffic congestion to fall in most countries for the first time in at least 10 years, disrupting long-held traffic patterns like the dreaded morning commute to work, a report released on Tuesday showed.
Congestion declined sharply on the gridlocked roads of crowded cities, including Los Angeles, Bengaluru and Mexico City in 2020, location technology company TomTom said. The pandemic is expected to weigh again on traffic congestion this year, said Nick Cohn, TomTom’s senior traffic expert.
“We’re going to see continued restrictions through the first half of the year and I think we’re going to see a lot of ups and downs before we’re really getting back to any normal driving patterns and traffic activity levels,” Cohn told Reuters in an interview.
TomTom’s report is based on data from 416 cities in 57 countries. It has published its traffic index for 10 years.
The downturn in congestion in the United States was more prolonged compared with Europe last year because US coronavirus cases stayed relatively high during the summer and early fall, Cohn said.
In the United States, Los Angeles, New York and Miami were the most congested cities, though traffic in each city dropped from 2019 levels by 36 percent, 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively, TomTom data showed.
Overall, Moscow was the most congested city in 2020, but traffic fell 8 percent from 2019. Bengaluru was the most-congested city in the world in 2019, but it fell to sixth in 2020 with nearly a 30 percent of drop in traffic year-on-year.
Traffic in London and Paris was almost 20 percent lower than in 2019 and traffic in Madrid and Rome dropped 35 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Berlin experienced only a 6 percent traffic fall compared with 2019.
Traffic patterns like the daily morning commute to work – a mainstay for decades – could shift because of increased flexibility around remote work for employees, Cohn said.
“In the US, Canada and Mexico, if you look at peak travel patterns, the morning peak seems to have melted away,” he said. “We have never seen that before.”
Traffic congestion during rush hours last year decreased by 25 percent globally, said Stephanie Leonard, TomTom’s head of traffic innovation and policy.
As more people return to office following vaccine distributions, congestion levels could rise if commuters choose to avoid public transit and drive to office instead, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
Filed under Coronavirus , lockdown , traffic , 1/13/21News Source: New York Post
Tags: search lockdown traffic we’re going in the united states in the united states traffic congestion traffic congestion in most countries compared congestion and traffic los angeles percent
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New York Mets: Dont sleep on JD Davis offensive potential
New York Mets: Don’t sleep on JD Davis’ offensive potential
- By: Andres Chavez
- January 27, 2021
After the New York Mets traded most of their shortstop depth in the deal that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Big Apple, the most likely scenario has them using Jeff McNeil at second base and JD Davis at the hot corner.
Defensively, it may not be an ideal solution. Davis had -8 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at third base in 2020, and accumulates -19 there in 770 career innings at the position. Other metrics support the thesis that he just isn’t a good player with the glove.
However, the Mets may want to keep his bat in the lineup. Even after a somewhat inconsistent 2020 that saw him slash .247/.371/.389 with a 116 wRC+, it’s important to remember that Davis slashed .307/.369/.527 with a .373 wOBA, 22 home runs, and a 136 wRC+ in 2019. He was one of the Mets’ best performers two years ago.
If he doesn’t improve, at least modestly, with the glove, he may have a hard time securing regular playing time, especially if the Mets can’t use the designated hitter spot (still in discussion.) However, if he bats like 2019 and not like 2020, manager Luis Rojas will be forced to find him at-bats.
The Mets want to see him bounce backFor now, he is ticketed for the arbitration process, as he and the New York Mets couldn’t agree on a contract. He requested $2.475 million and was offered $2.1 million by the Mets when arbitration figures were exchanged.
Barring additional signings, the Mets will enter 2021 with Davis as their starting third baseman. His defensive development will surely be one of the hottest spring training storylines, but it will be his bat that will dictate how many plate appearances he’ll enjoy in 2021.
The potential for a bounceback is there. Even in his “poor” 2020, Statcast loves Davis, as he was in the 71st percentile in average exit velocity; 80th percentile in hard-hit rate; and 78th percentile in expected wOBA. He hit the ball hard, and had some bad luck. The 2021 campaign, for him, will be about proving that his 2019 was no fluke.
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