Study: Wider Highways Won't Reduce Congestion
A new report (pdf) by Montreal-based engineering firm WSP has bad news for anyone who advocates for highway widening as a cure for congestion.
Dirk VanderHart shares news of the report by WSP, which was under contract with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to analyze the effects of proposed highway widening projects in the Portland area. According to the report, "none of the dozen highway-widening projects that are currently being planned in and around Portland by state officials would be enough in coming years to stem the increasing congestion choking Portland highways."
VanderHart notes that is a surprising finding for a report commissioned by the Oregon Department of Transportation—"a relentless champion of highway-widening projects." In fact, it sounds a lot more like the talking points of the vocal opposition to the plan to widen I-5 in the Rose Quarter of Portland.
Topics
- Oregon to Consider Statewide Ban of Single-Family Zoning
- The Sweet Smell of Density? Subconscious Influences on Perceptions of Urban Form
- Austin, Texas Shows the Way to Plan and Design Transit Oriented Development
- $1.5 Billion in BUILD Grants Announced
- All of L.A.'s Rail Lines Will Get New Names
- $7.5 Billion Regional Transit Plan Revealed in Houston
- Thumbs Down to Planning Rules of Thumb
- Trump Administration Gives 'Opportunity Zones' a Push Forward
- Friday Eye Candy: A Cartoon Explains the State of U.S. Public Transit
- The Future of the Retail Landscape
- A System For Identifying the Opportunity Zones Most Likely to Deliver on the Triple Bottom Line
- Two of Toronto's Newest Subway Stops Sluggish on Ridership
- The 'Goldilocks' Problem of Housing Supply
- Food Trucks, Already an Industry Force, Set for More Growth
- Traffic Study Leaves Cincinnati City Council Wanting More
- Implementing the Paris Climate Agreement in Katowice, Poland
- Google, Apple Expanding Around the Country, Spending Billions Along the Way
- A Transit-Oriented Parking Reform Proposal in San Diego
- 24 Hours on Miami Buses
- The U.S. Cities With the Most Restaurants Per Capita
