The inefficiencies of daily commutes set aside, the road systems of some cities are not prepared to deal with unexpected events that disrupt the transportation system.
Brandon Millman shares news of a new study by researchers at Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute that quantifies the traffic resilience of road systems in urban areas around the United States.
"When it comes to how well the region can handle unexpected situations, such as inclement weather, major traffic incidents or other events, the District ranks as the worst of 40 major metro areas in the U.S.," according to Millman.
"By comparison, traffic in Los Angeles was found to be inefficient on a daily basis. Yet researchers found that an unexpected event did not dramatically make a particular drive much worse," adds Millman.
Millman's focus is on the ignominy achieved by Washington, D.C. with the ranking, but there is still time to recognize that Cleveland and Salt Lake City "are cited as two of the best cities for "traffic resilience.'" The original study is behind a paywall at the Science Advances journal.
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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