CAR journeys in Nottingham take nearly a quarter longer in rush hour than at other times because of congestion, a report has revealed.
This makes the city the fifth worst for congestion in the country and the 24th worst in Europe.
And the results from the TomTom Congestion Index show that the delays add up to a huge amount of lost time. Commuters who make an average 30-minute journey will be delayed for 81 hours a year.
The report said the worst times for congestion were Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings, when journeys take 66 per cent longer.
Topping the list in Europe was Moscow in Russia, which was followed by Istanbul in Turkey and Warsaw in Poland. In the UK, Nottingham was fifth, behind London, Leeds-Bradford, Belfast and Bristol.
Portfolio holder for transport at Nottingham City Council Jane Urquhart said: "To only focus on car congestion gives an incomplete picture of transport in our city. Congestion is a blockage to any city's growth, which is precisely why we invest so much in measures to tackle it such as the tram, better bus services and improvements to the train station, to encourage greater public transport use.
"Our own figures, which include journeys taken by public transport, show that we are in fact third best in the country for journey times.
"In a city with a high proportion of households without access to a car, this is significant and a good reason for our substantial investment in public transport.
"Nottingham's high bus and tram use and transport improvements have seen congestion levels held steady for the last six years – on top of this we won City of the Year in last year's National Transport Awards.
"Clearly, we're doing something right, but we are always looking to build on this success and we have projects which will help to further improve journey times, such as the £16.2 million ring road improvement scheme."
Readers on the Post website thisisnottingham.co.uk felt that congestion was bad.
An online poll on the website showed that 60 per cent said the city's roads were congested and only 40 per cent disagreed.
Roger Lawson, of the Alliance of British Drivers, said the solution to congestion was to improve infrastructure for drivers.
He added: "Local authorities haven't dealt with the growth in car ownership well and in Nottingham well enough, and the simple way to deal with congestion is to build and expand the system.
"The council in Nottingham is instead looking at investing in a tram system when it could be looking at small improvements which would cost little and cut down congestion a great deal."
On the web: Join the debate at thisisnottingham.co.uk
