‘Solving’ Congestion Creates Worse Problems

Transportation for America hit the proverbial nail on the head with today’s post about bigger problems that arise when transportation funding prioritizes “solving” congestion.

For decades, writes Steve Davis,

transportation agencies have been trying to “solve” congestion by increasing road capacity, even when doing so can obliterate or divide communities, harm local businesses, and make streets more dangerous. Our latest cartoon shows how our “cures” for congestion are often worse than the problem.

While every transportation agency (including USDOT in their new road safety strategy) will tell you that safety is always the biggest priority, you can see what the real priority is by following the money. It’s usually the same goal: reducing congestion. Our latest cartoon in our ongoing series shows just how shortsighted and bankrupt our current approach to congestion is:

Read more about how a focus on reducing congestion creates more problems (including decreasing safety) than it solves, here.