You may have heard it said that increasing roadway capacity reduces emissions because of reduced congestion. But it's been known for a while that the impact of adding lanes is fleeting because of *induced demand*: if you build it, they (cars) will come.
A major escarpment access in #Hamilton is closing on short notice. Should you be worried about increased congestion because of detours? Surprisingly, probably not!
A thread about "traffic evaporation", the cool cousin of induced demand.
#ONpoli #HamOnt #InducedTravel #InducedDemand
https://globalnews.ca/news/9521904/claremont-access-hamilton-close-downbound/
A great talk by the great Susan Handy on induced travel and the #transportation paradigm that more roadway capacity is better.
Once decision-makers recognize that adding capacity won't fix congestion, we can turn to other options like tolls to manage demand.
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD