Increasing the number of freeway lanes is not a cost effective way to reduce traffic congestion
Posted By Sam Ollinger on May 31, 2010
Last week SignOnSanDiego.com posted a story on increasing the number of freeway lanes on the I-5 by four. District 3 Council member, Todd Gloria, immediately responded to the story by stating,
Six additional freeway lanes? No thanks. I’d prefer the money be used to extend Trolley service and build more bike lanes. Much smarter ways to ease traffic congestion.
David Bainbridge, a retired professor from Alliant International University, also wrote in to state in part,
Denmark recently committed $400 million for bicycle system upgrades. That would be $22 billion if we spent the same amount per capita in the United States. This might seem high, but it represents the estimated health costs for obesity in this country for less than one month in 2018.
San Diego would be much better off if the $3 billion or more proposed for I-5 “improvements” was spent on bicycle and pedestrian planning and infrastructure.
I couldn’t agree more. While the argument for increasing the number of freeway lanes is often based on ideas such as job creation and easing traffic congestion, the sad reality is that the jobs created are at best temporary and the increase in lanes only result in induced traffic [pdf link] thus creating a vicious cycle where the underlying problem is only compounded.
San Diego needs to look beyond the automobile in creating options for its residents’ mode of travel. Investing in public transit, walking and bicycling are the only sensible methods to ease congestion and simultaneously create a city that would make San Diegans proud.
[...] least some officials in San Diego understand that widening the freeway is only a short-term solution to traffic congestion; I’m still waiting for someone to figure that [...]
Excellent entry! Spot on! Glad to hear that Councilman Todd Gloria gets it and that he has a long-term vision for a high quality of life in San Diego.
Adding freeway lanes does not reduce traffic. It does the opposite–it increases and facilitates traffic by increasing automobile capacity.
As the saying goes, reducing traffic by adding freeway lanes is like fighting personal obesity by loosening your belt.
We need real solutions, not gap solutions that turn in to long term problems.
Invest in (well-planned) bicycle infrastructure. Research shows that people want it. Even U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray La Hood agrees. We now have support for bicycle infrastructure at the top. Let’s seize that opportunity.
[...] Bike San Diego: Increasing freeway lanes doesn’t reduce congestion. [...]
[...] Bike San Diego: Increasing freeway lanes doesn’t reduce congestion. [...]