Easing Traffic Congestion on a Tight Budget

Yet, while traffic congestion ranks as the area's top transportation problem, the board rarely combats it by devising ways to use roads or transit systems more efficiently. It usually focuses on approving projects that each jurisdiction wants to build and makes sure that traffic on any new roads won't cause the region to violate federal smog standards. But with money for big projects so tight and traffic growing worse, such groups as the Greater Washington Board of Trade are pushing regional leaders to consider smaller, short-term improvements. The Board of Trade pushed the transportation planning board to re-time traffic signals as a relatively fast, inexpensive gridlock-fighter.

Thanks to C. Scott Smith