Traffic
A Reporter’s Guide to ‘Congestion Cost’ Studies
Every year or so, one or more traffic-counting organizations trots out a report claiming that congestion is costing us tens of billions dollars each year. Despite the “big data” and elaborate estimates, the results are simply bunk, because they’re based on a flawed premise.
January 17, 2023
Study: Downtown Congestion is Still Down — And It Could Help Explain Roadway Dangers
Downtown rush hour has still not roared back to pre-pandemic levels even as car travel surges in the suburbs, a new study finds — and it may help explain why traffic deaths have stayed so stubbornly high in U.S. communities.
September 27, 2022
DR: STRANGECAR: Or How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Hate E-Cars
If you think electric cars are going to change all the problems of cars, well, I've got a bridge I really wish I could sell you.
June 27, 2022
Study: Car Ownership Doesn’t Always Cut Black Workers’ Commutes
It still takes Black workers 22 minutes longer to get to work every week than their White counterparts — it's probably not possible to speed up those commutes in urban areas with automotive strategies alone.
April 20, 2022
When Road Diets Get Rolled Back, Part I: The Texas Road Diet Massacre
How can a city calm its most dangerous roads when those roads are owned by the state? San Antonio grapples with that question, thanks to Gov. Abbott.
February 23, 2022
STUDY: 20 Is Plenty — But Signs Alone Don’t Always Get Drivers to Slow Down
Drivers did not slow really down after Portland lowered the speed limit in residential neighborhoods, but a new study suggests that the reason is more about road design than driver behavior.
February 2, 2022
Why Tesla Can Program Its Cars to Break Road Safety Laws
The controversial automaker introduced a new feature that allows drivers to pick one of three custom driving profiles: "chill," "average," and "assertive."
January 12, 2022
How To Avoid the Other COVID Plague: Traffic
But there is a willingness for citizens to move to active methods of travel, such as cycling, rather than replacing public transport modes with cars.
August 20, 2021
Study: Driving to Save Time Just Slows Everyone Down
Researchers have found that making driving more convenient ends up ensuring that a community will be choked by gridlock, and everyone will have a slower trip.
July 6, 2021
Can the MUTCD Catch Up with the New Mobility Revolution?
Sure, amending the MUTCD is long overdue. But it's also time to set strong standards that go beyond actual street signage and into the digital realm, advocates say.
May 17, 2021
