![]() ![]() In recent decades, federal and state elected officials have failed to increase fuel taxes enough to offset the effects of inflation and improved fuel economy, thus hobbling the major source of funding for road construction and repairs.Įven if we could expand the road network, though, the benefits would be limited by a phenomenon described as “triple convergence.” Congestion has been a problem for years, and many individuals deliberately alter their travel patterns to avoid severe traffic. We also lack the resources to engage in an extensive road building spree. Road Network Density in Major Metropolitan Areas As shown in Figure 3, the density of the road network in the greater Los Angeles region, measured in lane miles per square mile, is already far greater than in any other large metropolitan area in the country.įigure 3. To begin with, there simply isn’t much space to build new roads in Los Angeles, particularly in the most densely developed urban areas. ![]() Setting aside policy concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions and energy security, the prospects for “building our way out of congestion” are limited. One response would be to build or expand more roads to accommodate additional vehicle travel. We have therefore been relying, more and more, on congestion to resolve this imbalance. Over the past several decades, the gap between supply and demand has widened considerably population growth, economic expansion, and rising incomes have fueled the demand for more vehicle travel, while road construction has stagnated. In fact, congestion can be viewed as a solution (though an unpleasant one) to this imbalance when demand exceeds supply, congestion makes us wait our turn for available road space to balance the equation. Just why should this be so? Consider, first, that traffic congestion results from an imbalance between the supply of roads and peak-hour automotive travel. Other measures-better transit service, ridesharing programs, traffic signal synchronization, and the like-can complement pricing, but are not on their own sufficient to stem current and projected future traffic congestion. To achieve lasting traffic relief, it will be necessary to manage the demand for travel through pricing reforms (e.g., congestion tolls) that increase the cost of driving and parking in the busiest corridors and areas during peak travel hours. ![]() The resulting report, Moving Los Angeles: Short-Term Policy Options for Improving Transportation, offers recommendations at once controversial and likely inescapable. Researchers at the RAND Corporation were asked to recommend strategies capable of reducing LA traffic within five years or less (the short timeframe rules out land-use reforms along with major infrastructure investments). Should the region’s economy and population grow in the coming decades, as some forecasts predict, the probable outcome is even more vehicle travel and in turn more intense congestion.Ĭontroversial Solutions for a Daunting Problem Yet if past trends hold, this reprieve is likely to be fleeting. ![]() With the recent run-up in fuel prices followed by a severe recession, total travel in Los Angeles has declined over the past two years, and congestion has correspondingly eased. Here again it is evident that traffic congestion is broadly dispersed, yet the pattern is particularly intense between downtown Los Angeles and the Westside.įigure 2. The map in Figure 2, based on 2004 volume-to-capacity (V/C) estimates from SCAG, depicts the pattern of afternoon traffic congestion on the county’s largest arterials. Traffic Conditions on the LA Freeway NetworkĬonditions on the surface streets are not much better. Congestion is pervasive throughout much of the county most freeways have segments on which traffic averages less than 35 mph at least two hours per day, and many bottlenecks are congested at least four hours per day.įigure 1. The map in Figure 1, based on 2006 Caltrans sensor data, illustrates the weekday pattern of traffic congestion on the LA freeway network. Considering the value of wasted time and fuel, TTI estimates the annual cost of traffic congestion in greater Los Angeles at close to $10 billion. metropolitan areas on an annual basis, and Los Angeles routinely ranks first for both total and per-capita congestion delays. The Texas Transportation Institute tracks congestion statistics for U.S. While traffic congestion plagues many cities, Los Angeles stands apart. ![]()
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