Worst Streets in Lubbock – Our Top 5

This street serves as a grim reminder of some failures of municipal governments past, particularly when traveling from west to east. 98th Street has had plenty of problems over the past few years from severe flooding to a sanitary sewer installation failing miserably, causing homes to be purchased by the city and moved elsewhere. This area often has traffic backups due to the single lane eastbound as road cones guide motorists away from the vacant lots which used to be the site of unhappy shifting homes. It is also a regular occurrence to see cones and traffic barrels knocked directly in the path of travel, which leaves the attentive motorist with a severe risk of being rear-ended, and the more distracted motorists with a dinged up bumper and broken fog lights. If you choose not to take our word for it, ask any delivery driver in south Lubbock for their thoughts on the area.

Many are well-acquainted with the sinking feeling of gazing upon the scads of traffic stacked up on this wimpy 5-lane thoroughfare, and the worst part is, you're likely about to get well acquainted with the 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass blasting Dr. Dre in front of you. After all, you'll stare at the rear of it in stop, go, and scream traffic for the next half hour. This road is not even worth driving on during the morning and afternoon rush hours, so if you make a wrong turn and cannot escape, it's best to just turn the dial to KFYO and find something newsworthy to capture your attention for a while.

Poor light timings, coupled with a road full of people flooding away from the South Plains Mall and parents in minivans taking the leisurely approach to go pick up their kids make driving on this stretch of road a true exercise in patience. Prepare to be cut off by every person imaginable trying to cut across three lanes of traffic, since many seem to believe that Irons Middle School or Dairy Queen is apparently worth risking their car, your lives, and the blood pressure of the motorists surrounding them.

These streets have changed lanes available to traffic more times than Joan Rivers has changed her face. Not only has it become difficult to navigate if you don't go through the area regularly, but some of the traffic paths are quite erratic and dangerous. Tight paths, long-hooded luxury cars, and a twenty-something in a Ford F250 have caused many close calls with the insurance companies or, at the very least, a near miss with incontinence (if you're lucky.) We may take solace in the fact that the construction is to better the area, in an effort to rid the region of the myriad of potholes which attempt to swallow tires whole as soon as there is precipitation and freezing temperatures.

Heading up our list of the most unpleasant streets in the Hub City to deal with simply must be 82nd Street at Quaker Avenue. Everyone employed at Townsquare Media Lubbock must hurl themselves and their precious vehicles into the breach daily to get to work near here. One must deal with a seemingly endless onslaught of cars simply to turn into the building, if you haven't been run out of the lane by someone who believes that 500 feet is the proper merging distance to get into the turn lane. Sure, breaks in traffic are common, as are tire marks from absolutely flooring the vehicle to take advantage of the 4-second window from the car that putted by leisurely and the vehicle that just did a power-slide out of a nearby parking lot in a futile attempt to get through the intersection without stopping. If you do manage to make it out in one piece, expect to sit through the turn arrow heading south on Quaker due to the sanctimonious hybrid driver who has decided to reflect on the fact that the arrow is not an acceptable shade of green. If you're headed north on Quaker and in the right-most left turn lane, ensure that your grille guard has been installed correctly and the brakes are working well, because you will be tested as the driver ahead will inevitably turn into the nearby convenience store without warning. If your reflexes aren't good, get a car with airbags or ensure that your rib cage is strong enough to become acquainted with the nearby steering wheel. This is good advice for many streets in Lubbock as well.