Widening Highways Doesn’t Fix Traffic. So Why Do We Keep Doing It?
www.nytimes.com
With billions of dollars available to improve transportation infrastructure, states have a chance to try new strategies for addressing congestion. But some habits are hard to break.

For critics of widening projects, the prime example of induced demand is the Katy Freeway in Houston, one of the widest highways in the world with 26 lanes.

Immediately after Katy’s last expansion, in 2008, the project was hailed as a success. But within five years, peak hour travel times on the freeway were longer than before the expansion.

Matt Turner, an economics professor at Brown University and co-author of the 2009 study on congestion, said adding lanes is a fine solution if the goal is to get more cars on the road. But most highway expansion projects, including those in progress in Texas, cite reducing traffic as a primary goal.

“If you keep adding lanes because you want to reduce traffic congestion, you have to be really determined not to learn from history,” Dr. Turner said.

  • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    141·
    10 months ago

    This is an article also about Houston’s freeways and traffic; induced demand is the reason congestion is not lessened in these situations:

    The infuriating bit is that the evidence is pretty clear: these are deeply misguided policies. While it seems intuitive that the solution to three lanes of gridlock is to spread the same number of cars over four lanes, it fails because of a phenomenon called induced demand.

    Please stop adding more lanes to busy highways—it doesn’t help

    This is explored extensively in the book ‘Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)’ by Tom Vanderbilt. I highly recommend it; it’s excellent and very informative about this widely misunderstood topic.

    Getting more cars off the road using things like better public transportation is the answer here, something that is sadly lacking in Houston…yet they keep widening roads. It never helps, and it never will.

    • Cleverdawny@lemm.eeEnglish
      310·
      10 months ago

      By definition, if the road has more capacity, it is helping. It just isn’t helping enough to eliminate traffic. Unless you’re claiming that the larger freeways have the same capacity as the smaller ones, which doesn’t really make sense.

      • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        41·
        10 months ago

        I think you’re intentionally missing the point, so I’m gonna go about my day now. But feel free to check out either of the sources I linked if you want to learn why bigger roads don’t reduce congestion. :)

        • Cleverdawny@lemm.eeEnglish
          14·
          10 months ago

          Yeah, you didn’t read what I wrote, you just chose to be an arrogant ass. Fucking hell, you people are dickheads.

          • TheDankHold@kbin.social
            1·
            10 months ago

            It’s insane how little self awareness you have. They politely correct you and provide information to confirm it and you get pissy and call them a dickhead.

            Look in the mirror you dense loser.