Tuesday, June 06, 2006
IF ONLY THE HIGHWAY WAS WIDER THEN ALL THE TRAFFIC WOULD DISAPPEAR
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Back in the 70's during the oil crises, we all thought that small cars, walking and cycling was the future. Who would have thought that 30 years later, everyone drives large trucks called SUV's and the outdoor, car-oriented Box Stores are replacing pedestrian-oriented indoor shopping malls. We were told that highways were bad for the environment and caused urban sprawl. Not only are they expensive but ineffective as road building simply "attracts" traffic. When roads are toll-free and the user demand in insatiable, then gridlock can never be eradicated. How wide does Toronto's "401" need to be before it alleviates traffic. The 401 is now 20 lanes wide and we still have traffic! We could add another 25 lanes, the relief would be temporary, then people would decide that living in Milton and working in Pickering is now possible... and guess what, in 5 years we would be back with the same gridlock. The main reason for gridlock is not lack of road capacity but the fact that that everyone wants to travel at the same time. So what is the solution. It is obvious after 50 years of intensive highway building then nothing really has been accomplished. The solution is to move closer to work and invest in mass transit. Also flexible work hours and telecommuting. Unfortunately, the jobs are moving to the suburbs since people are not willing to give up their cars, big homes. It is ironic that Toronto has one of best transit systems in North America while at the same time holding the record for the 2nd busiest highway after LA's San Bernadino freeway or Santa Monica Freeway. Nevertheless it is certainly the widest highway probably in the world - even the busiest LA highway is only 10 lanes wide!
The 401 during an off-peak time. ( photo source:
www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/f142.html )
===================================================================
Back in the 70's during the oil crises, we all thought that small cars, walking and cycling was the future. Who would have thought that 30 years later, everyone drives large trucks called SUV's and the outdoor, car-oriented Box Stores are replacing pedestrian-oriented indoor shopping malls. We were told that highways were bad for the environment and caused urban sprawl. Not only are they expensive but ineffective as road building simply "attracts" traffic. When roads are toll-free and the user demand in insatiable, then gridlock can never be eradicated. How wide does Toronto's "401" need to be before it alleviates traffic. The 401 is now 20 lanes wide and we still have traffic! We could add another 25 lanes, the relief would be temporary, then people would decide that living in Milton and working in Pickering is now possible... and guess what, in 5 years we would be back with the same gridlock. The main reason for gridlock is not lack of road capacity but the fact that that everyone wants to travel at the same time. So what is the solution. It is obvious after 50 years of intensive highway building then nothing really has been accomplished. The solution is to move closer to work and invest in mass transit. Also flexible work hours and telecommuting. Unfortunately, the jobs are moving to the suburbs since people are not willing to give up their cars, big homes. It is ironic that Toronto has one of best transit systems in North America while at the same time holding the record for the 2nd busiest highway after LA's San Bernadino freeway or Santa Monica Freeway. Nevertheless it is certainly the widest highway probably in the world - even the busiest LA highway is only 10 lanes wide!
The 401 during an off-peak time. ( photo source:
www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/f142.html )
# posted by St Roberts @ 1:27 PM 
