PascaleDec 10, 2022
Brent Toderian
“We found that there’s this perfect one-to-one relationship. If a city increased its road capacity by 10%, then the amount of driving in that city went up by 10%.” One of the earliest, and still one of the best articles on why building bigger roads just leads to more driving. Call it #InducedDemand, or #JevonsParadox, or the #LawOfCongestion. Via WIRED, it’s worth a read and share.
https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/
#cities #transportation #urbanism #city #cars
What's Up With That: Building Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse

The concept is called induced demand, which is economist-speak for when increasing the supply of something (like roads) makes people want that thing even more. Though some traffic engineers made note of this phenomenon at least as early as the 1960s, it is only in recent years that social scientists have collected enough data to show how this happens pretty much every time we build new roads.

WIRED
Dec 10, 2022 at 4:58pmWeb
Show threadHarald WalkerDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian and that knowledge has been there for a long time. More roads = more traffic. #transportation #traffic
Show threadDan WalkerDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian does this apply to other forms of transportation as well? If so we should use that to encourage buses, bikes etc to clear up the roads for people who actually need to drive.
Show threadJoão PinheiroDec 10, 2022
@rowdypixel
Yes, it does. In the image, if you could use part of the space to build bicycle lanes, you'd have people cycling there! What happens is that many people don't ride their bicycles because they are afraid of people driving cars!
@BrentToderian
Show threadacmDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian Actually, it's my understanding that the traffic goes up *more* than the capacity, leading to increased congestion! :(
Show threadStuart D NeilsonDec 11, 2022
@acm_redfox @BrentToderian Wide motorways collect congestion thinly spread over rural areas and deposit all that concentrated congestion in urban areas.
Show threadPerfectDude!Dec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian and actually all that money spent on widening the roads should be poured into increasing the public transportation facilities. That way the congestion on the roads will come down as well as the level of carbon emission from the vehicles on the road.
Show threadSteve Hunt 🇪🇺🔶 #RejoinEU #FBPEDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian adding road space to solve congestion is like putting another hole in your belt to tackle weight gain
Show threadMarco van Burgsteden 🍋Dec 10, 2022
@deepfriedsteve @BrentToderian attributed to Lewis Mumford, back in the fifties, if I recall it right.
Show threadNicolas PettiauxDec 10, 2022
@deepfriedsteve @BrentToderian
Show threadJudith Lewis MernitDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian Oh how I wish urban planners would get this into their heads for good! Especially in Los Angeles.
Show threadTRDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian Better to subsidize purchase of smaller cars for each office-worker http://www.commutercars.com/
Commuter Cars: Tango | Home

Commuter Cars' Tango, arguably the safest car ever built. Avoids accidents better than any other car, racecar impact protecton, doubling highway lane capacity, quadrupling parking capacity, 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, and lanesplitting where legal.

Show threadPeter AshfordDec 10, 2022
@BrentToderian the city of Auckland and the #nznational party could learn a lesson here. They won't, of course because they don't need facts
Show threadGrahamDec 11, 2022
@BrentToderian Does it pass the leon smuk test?
Show threadBlissDec 11, 2022
@BrentToderian prioritizing cars really makes no sense from a financial, economical, or even just practical sense in the case of induced demand. We've known it for a long time but the government is in the pocket of the auto and oil industries.
Show threadMachielDec 11, 2022
@BrentToderian you’d think the tolerance for traffic jams would be changed after all this working from home.
Show threadTom van VurenDec 11, 2022
@BrentToderian A RAND study found much smaller elasticities of around 0.2. https://www.rand.org/randeurope/research/projects/a-review-of-induced-travel-demand.html
A review of induced travel demand

Through an extensive literature review, researchers found evidence that road capacity improvements result in induced travel demand, but most of the evidence came from large metropolitan areas outside the UK. More evidence from local studies would be helpful to ensure induced travel demand is properly accounted for in appraisal of capacity improvements to the UK's Strategic Road Network.

Show threadDavid M. Levinson ⁂Dec 11, 2022
@tomvanvuren @BrentToderian my review found between 0.5 and 1.0
Show threadDavid M. Levinson ⁂Dec 11, 2022
@tomvanvuren @BrentToderian travel budget theory gives about 1.0 in the long run.
Show threadTom van VurenDec 12, 2022
@Transportist @BrentToderian Of course the time saving doesn't have to be consumed as car travel! We should do more mixing travel time budget theory and traditional modelling, incl checking aggregate results between base year, long term do-minimum and project cases.
Show threadAatos LehtilaDec 11, 2022
@BrentToderian
There will never be enough roads. Time to create other ways to travel.
Show threadRabbitupnorthDec 12, 2022
@BrentToderian
Exactly what we are facing in the greater Toronto area, as the Province wants to build a new mega highway across farmlands due to traffic congestion, now and in.thd future.
Show threadLeRoy WesterlingDec 17, 2022
@BrentToderian it’s projecting a linear relationship where it should be very nonlinear.
Show threadMike OBrienDec 19, 2022
@BrentToderian nice parking lot