A massive freeway expansion only led to longer drive times, showing that building more lanes won't solve congestion.
A $3 billion freeway expansion in Houston highlights the impact of induced demand, showing that even expanding Interstate 10 to 26 lanes didn't speed up traffic.
In fact, writes Daniel Moran in Space Daily, after dropping initially, travel times on the Katy Freeway got longer. The drive on one stretch of the freeway took up to 51% longer after the widening. "What the data shows is that the gains evaporated within a few years of opening and then kept heading the wrong way," Moran adds.
Yet Houston continues to expand its freeways. "The agency’s own construction announcement describes a $13 billion effort to expand roadway capacity and reduce congestion, and quotes the chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission on getting Texans out of traffic faster."
Too Big for Texas? Houston's 23-Lane Freeway
After a $2.3 billion widening project, traffic once again chokes the Katy Freeway's 23 lanes. For road spending critics who are also taxpayers, this I-told-you-so moment is bittersweet.
Report Criticizes El Paso Interstate Expansion Plan
An independent review of TxDOT's proposed expansion of I-10 through downtown El Paso highlights several flaws and a price tag close to $800 million.
If You Build It, Cars Will Come: the Common-Sense Logic of 'Induced Demand'
Highway expansion has been shown, time and again, to increase traffic and congestion. Cities are finally getting the message.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
‘Hoodwinked:’ New Mexico bill aimed at microgrids paves way for data center development
In an interview with High Country News, Padilla said the legislation “ignited” New Mexico's economy.
California’s ‘unrecognizable’ water plan may go down the drain
After four years of regulatory processes, water agencies say the plan to overhaul how cities and farms take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has changed dramatically.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority