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Road Widening Doesn't Work: Just Ask Atlanta

Posted by: Christian Madera

5 November 2006 - 9:00am

A recent op-ed bemoans the state of Atlanta's traffic congestion, and calls a reversal of current road widening policies, which have done little to help solve the region's transportation woes.

"The solution to traffic congestion in a modern urban center such as Atlanta lies in transportation alternatives, not more highways. We must focus on efforts that reduce the number of vehicles on Atlanta's roads, increase access to and coverage of the mass transit network and make land-use decisions that allow people to live near transit, jobs and shopping. Building smarter rather than larger will also help relieve Atlanta's air quality problems by reducing tailpipe pollution."

The authors criticize a proposal for adding up to eight lanes to Interstate 75, which would result in 23-lane-wide portions of highway.

Full Story: Adding lanes no way to go
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 3, 2006
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All of that only scratches the surface of what's wrong with this study. The idea that complex urban development patterns and human behavior can be meaningfully studied according to one primary criteria — density — is wrong from the start.
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