The Irony of Ring Roads

One way to address traffic congestion is to provide a bypass for vehicles around city traffic machinations. Ring roads, by definition, are meant to perform that function. In reality, they ignore the supply and demand model of traffic management.

3 minute read

November 7, 2013, 8:30 AM PST

By Steven Snell @Stevenpsnell


The economic cost of traffic congestion in cities is significant. The Canadian Taxpayer Alliance for example states that in Toronto the cost of traffic amounts to more than one and a half billion dollars per year in lost productivity (not to mention additional consumption of greenhouse gases and resulting pollution and smog from inefficiently operated vehicles – which also bear economic costs).

One way to address traffic congestion is to provide a bypass for vehicles around city traffic machinations. A ring road, by definition, is to serve as exactly that. If there’s congestion on city roads, a ring road will provide an alternate route for traffic to circumnavigate the city.

But definitions can differ from reality. Does a ring road act as an orbital around the city? If there is urban development beyond it, by definition, it is not a ring road. If the road acts to increase capacity in the transportation network – building more roads to provide additional route choice to reducing traffic – then it is less a ring road and simply additional urban road infrastructure. However, increasing road supply does not equate to traffic alleviation.

I’ve written previously about the supply and demand model of traffic management. In brief, traffic is a function of demand. Too much demand exhausts the resource, in this case, roads. More resource is thus produced to accommodate demand; demand meets supply; repeat. More roads equal more traffic. In this case, a ring road produces more traffic. Or as expressed through a city planning model, a ring road – by adding more road capacity to the vehicular transportation network – allows the perpetuation of auto-centric planning.

Tim Miller writes in China’s Urban Billion, that ring roads allow the increase of “potential area for urban development in one stroke, as all land within an orbital will quickly become fair game for development.” Citing the World Bank, Miller continues, “What’s the best way to take land? … You draw a circle around the city and call it a ring road. It’s the most efficient way of circumscribing rural land. This means you have all the incentives for urban sprawl.” Anecdotally, Mr. Miller notes Beijing has five ring roads.

A demand for roads can be tied to the design of a community. Seeking efficiencies in a system designed for automobiles through the provision of additional road capacity does not resolve the underlying issue. If traffic congestion is to be ameliorated, supply shouldn’t be addressed. Address demand. By focusing on supply (i.e. building more roads), and not demand (i.e. augmenting a city to lessen vehicular demand), the production of an auto-centric city continues.

To ensconce my tongue deeply in my cheek, as city historian Lewis Mumford said, “Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.”

Editor's Note: This post was revised on 11/15/2013


Steven Snell

Steven Snell has over ten years of professional urban planning experience with a focus on conservation policy. He has a master’s degree in urban design and is a novelist of How Soon We Fall From Love.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight