In a post-9/11 and post-Katrina world, where mass evacuations mean an exodus in private vehicles, does a lack of appropriate freeway capacity represent a public safety hazard, asks Wendell Cox.
"An estimated 2.5 million people were able to evacuate from Houston because they had cars and because the roadway system has been upgraded to handle the rising population, writes Wendell Cox.
For nearly two decades, urban planners and environment interest groups have sought by every means possible to prevent the building of new highway capacity. The justification was a belief that building new highways created more traffic, which is akin to believing that building more maternity wards would increase the birthrate.
In most urban areas, traffic congestion has become much worse because road capacity has not kept up with growth. This means more than just a longer trip to work: It means that it will take more time than we have to complete major evacuations if they should be necessary."
Read the full story: Highways to Hell
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
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‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
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California, Hawaii, Rhode Island approve housing propositions
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Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review
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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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority