| The most inefficient mass transit system is the highway. As the journalist Sam Smith said, "No one has come up with a sillier idea than carrying lone individuals in eight foot long, $25,000 vehicles down roadways that have become jammed and obsolete because of what planners call the iron law of traffic: Traffic will increase to fill the space available to it."
Before continuing, I suggest you read my brief historical account of the making of the auto-dependent society in the United States. I believe we are beginning to break out of this highway first mentality, but much needs to be done. |
| As I have stated before, providing people with more choices in housing, shopping, communities, and transportation is a key aim of smart growth. Communities are increasingly seeking these choices -- particularly a wider range of transportation options -- in an effort to improve beleaguered transportation systems. Traffic congestion is worsening across the country. Where in 1982 65 percent of travel occurred in uncongested conditions, by 1997 only 36 percent of peak travel occurred did so. In fact, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, congestion over the last several years has worsened in nearly every major metropolitan area in the United States:
Average urban congestion trends from 1993-2003 include the following:
* Peak-period trips take an average of about seven percent longer.
* Travelers spend 47 extra hours per year in travel compared to 40 hours in 1993.
* The percent of freeway mileage that is congested has grown from 51 percent to 60 percent.
In response, communities are beginning to implement new approaches to transportation planning, such as better coordinating land use and transportation; increasing the availability of high quality transit service; creating redundancy, resiliency and connectivity within their road networks; and ensuring connectivity between pedestrian, bike, transit, and road facilities. In short, they are coupling a multi-modal approach to transportation with supportive development patterns, to create a variety of transportation options. For case studies about providing a variety of transporation options, please click here. |
