Brookings: Building roads not the answer; offering various alternatives would help
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Aug 31, 2015 | 5:51 pm
1 min read time
208 wordsAll Latest News, TransportationThe Brooking Institution’s Robert Puentes writes that the days of building bigger roads to increase vehicle speeds should be over, because it doesn’t help in the long run and some people want to walk, bike and take the bus to work.
Puentes notes that cities have found that if they build bigger highways, motorists quickly clog them. It’s called induced demand.
Since 1994, all but one of the top 100 places studied by Texas A&M University researchers saw congestion get worse, based on travel times. Yet during that time, 92 of these places saw an increase in the amount of roadway per capita.
Puentes said the emphasis should be on making transportation accessible to people, rather than measuring success by how quickly vehicles can move.
Brookings’ David Levinson argues that Manhattan, N.Y., with its many transportation options, is far more accessible than Manhattan, Kan., which has far less traffic.
Heavy traffic can be an indicator of a thriving economy, and also can lead people to move closer to work, Puentes found. Read more
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