University of Toronto professors say that building more roads just encourages more driving. Building transit doesn't help reduce congestion either, though it still maximizes the value of the transportation system.
Tanya Snyder reports:
"In a paper to be published soon in the American Economic Review, two University of Toronto professors have added to the body of evidence showing that highway and road expansion increases traffic by increasing demand. On the flip side, they show that transit expansion doesn't help cure congestion either.
We'll spare you the calculus in the report. Here's the upshot: "Roads cause traffic.""
Thanks to Tanya Snyder
FULL STORY: Study: Building Roads to Cure Congestion Is an Exercise in Futility
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research