SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Chapter 6: Traffic Congestion
Key Quotes
“For a city, especially in its economic centers, the only thing worse than having traffic congestion is not having traffic congestion.” — Click to Tweet
“People often say that they are ‘stuck in traffic,’ as if their vehicle is somehow not a literal part of the traffic in which they are stuck. They are not stuck in traffic; they are traffic.” — Click to Tweet
“If traffic engineers started from scratch with just one goal — to create the maximum amount of traffic congestion possible — they would end up creating the transportation system we now use.” — Click to Tweet
“Even though congestion is the bane of transportation systems, the hierarchical system of roads and streets deployed in every American city each day creates the maximum amount of congestion possible.” — Click to Tweet
“Dynamic humans will adapt to the additional [highway] capacity, generally by making decisions that require them to take more auto trips.” — Click to Tweet
“The goal of traffic modeling is not to be right; it is to create a plausible narrative as to why more construction is both needed and helpful.” — Click to Tweet
“For an engineer, a conservative approach is not one that reduces the size and budget of the project, opting for a more incremental solution. No, a conservative approach means massively overbuilding everything under the guise of penny-wise, pound-foolish.”
“The only viable alternative to a despotic system of ubiquitous congestion, faulty modeling, and over-engineering is to strengthen neighborhoods.” — Click to Tweet
“The only way to respond to traffic congestion is by creating local alternatives to distant trips. Increases in traffic congestion increase demand for local alternatives. Instead of fighting congestion, we need to embrace it. We need to recognize it for what it is — pent-up demand — and use it to create wealth and prosperity within our cities.” — Click to Tweet
“Like river networks generate floods, the hierarchical road network manufactures congestion. It will create the maximum volume and duration of congestion possible wherever it is used. There is no way to productively build enough capacity to eliminate congestion.”
“All traffic models are wrong. Approaches that rely on traffic projections trade the insecurity of not knowing the future for the false confidence that comes from modeling.” — Click to Tweet
