Five myths about highways that ensure a culture of car dependence.

Five myths distort thinking about the role and importance of highways in American life, according to an article by David Zipper.
To open the article, Zipper speaks frankly about the role of highways in American life: "Even if you use a car to get to work — as roughly 85 percent of American commuters did before the pandemic — you might harbor some misperceptions about the pavement you drive on."
To illustrate the point, Zipper lists five myths about highways, listed below, but with more detail on each found in the source article:
- Wider highways let traffic move faster.
- Ninety-four percent of crashes are caused by human error.
- Congestion pricing hurts the poor.
- Gasoline taxes pay for highways.
- Americans love cars.
The source article is well cited to build its case for each of the myths listed above.
FULL STORY: Five myths about highways

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)