Decades of traffic data across the United States shows that adding new road capacity doesn't actually improve congestion. The latest example of this is the widening of Los Angeles' I-405 freeway, which was completed in May after five years of construction and a cost of over $1 billion. "The data shows that traffic is moving slightly slower now on 405 than before the widening," says Matthew Turner, a Brown University economist.
The main reason, Turner has found, is simple — adding road capacity spurs people to drive more miles, either by taking more trips by car or taking longer trips than they otherwise would have. He and University of Pennsylvania economist Gilles Duranton call this the "fundamental rule" of road congestion: adding road capacity just increases the total number of miles traveled by all vehicles.
2 comments:
Nonsense. The San Diego Freeway (as the 405 is known to long standing natives of the Golden State) happens to be the main conduit accessing the 'trendy west side' of LA County, a point that merits considerable contemplation with regards to the topic. The area in general has experienced an exponential growth over the pas four decades---growth that to observant eyes, was certain to exceed the resource capacities of the region. The freeway issue is merely one indicator among many that a far great dilemma is beginning to manifest.
Traffic levels (Vehicle Miles Traveled) peaked in the USA in 2007. Induced traffic used to be a huge problem but now that we're at peak it's less significant.
Meanwhile, the USA is plotting about a trillion dollars in highway expansions.
www.PeakTraffic.org/vmt.html
www.PeakTraffic.org
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