A Sign of the Times: The Dartmouth Mall Holiday Traffic Feels Nonexistent This Year

Every holiday, especially around Christmas time, I do my very best to avoid any commute that comes close to the North Dartmouth Mall.

It's one thing to get stuck in traffic if you're out and about doing some last-minute shopping because that's on you, but it's another if you're fighting the bumper-to-bumper traffic in an attempt to just get home.

Oddly enough, it appears (to me at least) that the heavy flow of congestion is somewhat tolerable this year, nonexistent if anything.

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Normally, what gets bogged down is the stretch from Faunce Corner Road to Tucker Road, and people don't know when to stop at the line before proceeding into the intersection. Usually, the average wait is to one light change, due to limited room between the Faunce Corner and Tucker Road stretch.

On top of that, it's also always backed up on Route 6 trying to turn onto Hathaway Road as vehicles wait patiently to cross over. Usually, traffic would normally be backed up beyond Chipolte if you're heading Eastbound towards New Bedford. Still, with only a week and a half until Christmas, the rush is absent and the normal Dartmouth traffic is moving at an average pace.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about this. It just means more people are shopping online this year to avoid the mess by the Faunce Corner and Route 6 intersection. You know- the one where people try to make it through just to get stuck in the middle, only to create a more hectic situation? Yeah, that one.

With only a few days left for procrastinating shoppers to get their final haul in, I'm curious to see if the pattern changes at all leading up to December 25th.

Either way, I'll be taking the long route around.