Traffic
The Science Is Clear: More Highways Equals More Traffic. Why Are DOTs Still Ignoring It?
Numerous studies have documented the phenomenon known as induced demand in transportation: Basically, if you build highway lanes, more drivers will come. And yet, transportation agencies rarely account for this effect when planning road projects.
June 21, 2017
Transportation Agencies Will Finally Measure the Movement of People, Not Just Cars
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in the quest for free-flowing vehicular traffic. The result is wider highways, more sprawl, and more people stuck in congestion. But this week U.S. DOT took an important step to change course, releasing new standards to guide how transportation agencies measure their performance. Advocates for transit and walkability say the policy is a significant improvement.
January 12, 2017
No, Giant Shared Ubers Aren’t About to Solve City Traffic Problems
MIT researchers got a ton of press for a mathematical model that showed sharing for-hire vehicles could replace 85 percent of New York City's taxi fleet. But their conclusions were built on shaky assumptions, says economist Joe Cortright.
January 6, 2017
More Driving, More People Dying on America’s Streets
On Friday, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration released new data [PDF] showing that traffic deaths are up. Up quite a bit.
February 9, 2016
Modern Road Design in 7 Words: Cities Aren’t the Hoses, They’re the Gardens
Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.
August 10, 2015
The Feds Quietly Acknowledge the Driving Boom Is Over
The Federal Highway Administration has very quietly acknowledged that the driving boom is over.
January 7, 2015
Talking Headways Podcast: Here I Am, Stuck in Seattle With You
Stuck in Seattle or Stuck in Sherman Oaks. There are so many places to get stuck these days and so many clowns and jokers making it worse.
December 19, 2014
The Importance of Driving to the U.S. Economy Started Waning in the 70s
Earlier this year, following a slight uptick in U.S. traffic volumes, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a press release, "More people driving means our economy is picking up speed." He's not the only person to equate traffic with economic growth. Even former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg once said, "We like traffic, it means economic activity," before his administration embraced ideas like congestion pricing, bus lanes, and protected bikeways.
December 18, 2014
Talking Headways: Level of Disservice
In California, whether you’re building an office tower or a new transit line, you’re going to run up against the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The law determines how much environmental analysis you need to do for new projects. But sadly, in practice it’s better at propagating car-oriented development than improving the quality of the environment.
December 12, 2014
It’s Happening: Washington State Revises Traffic Forecasts to Reflect Reality
The amount that the average American drives each year has been declining for nearly a decade, yet most transportation agencies are still making decisions based on the notion that a new era of ceaseless traffic growth is right around the corner.
October 21, 2014