It all depends on one thing: How much are travelers willing to pay for a shorter trip?
In deciding whether to undertake highway expansion projects—which can cost billions of dollars—projected time savings for travelers are often a major consideration. So if travelers aren't willing to pay as much as current wisdom suggests for shorter trips, that would "call into question the rationale for investing public funds in highway projects."
And indeed, after some slightly wonky deliberations, City Observatory's Joe Cortright concludes that "many investments of scarce public resources in additional unpriced road capacity isn’t economically worthwhile for the travelers who use it."
There's a "rule of thumb," Cortright says, that "travelers value their time at something close to half their wage rate." But according to a recent paper that looked at use of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, the certainty of arriving at a particular time is actually far more important to most travelers.
A more accurate rule of thumb might be that "the typical user values travel time savings at about $3 per hour, and reliability improvements at about $23 per hour."
FULL STORY: What HOT lanes reveal about the value of travel time
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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