A new study from U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group projects three scenarios for Americans' future driving patterns that all fall short of current government projections. Transportation planning priorities should be reconsidered, the study contends.
"After decades of steady growth, U.S. driving rates have stagnated and even fallen. Per capita driving is as low as it was in 1996. And yet, federal and state government estimates continue to predict inexorable growth, relentlessly building expensive new highways for drivers who might not materialize," writes Tanya Snyder.
"A groundbreaking new study from U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group shows that any of three likely scenarios for future U.S. driving trends show far lower vehicle miles traveled than any of the principal current government estimates. That creates a disconnect between the kinds of transportation Americans are choosing with their feet and the kinds of transportation the system is designing for them."
"The impact of all this unrealistic forecasting is that states are going into debt to lay asphalt no one wants to drive on," she explains. "Toll roads, which are increasingly popular with states because they provide a revenue source to pay private investors back, are falling far short of projected use all over the country."
FULL STORY: U.S. PIRG: The Driving Boom Is Over But the Road-Building Binge Continues
Young Americans Drive Historic Decline in Auto Usage
Brad Plumer looks at the latest data on Americans' driving habits, which shows that vehicle miles driven have fallen an astonishing 8.75 percent since June 2005. Despite the end of the recession, driving rates continue their downward trend. But why?
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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City of Albany
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