Highway Expansion

To whom it may concern,

There is a very popular belief that we can build our way out of congestion. It is this same faulty logic that believes the cure to our energy problem is simply to produce more energy. In both cases, it is a matter of reducing demand and consumption, not creating a larger supply. While there is admittedly some chicken versus egg issues on this matter, clearly the creation of the automobile spurred the development of roads, which led to the proliferation of the Interstate Highway system. A vicious cycle of building more and more roads for more and more cars has now evolved into a land use, sustainability and national security issue. It goes like this; a highway becomes congested so more lanes are added to improve its level of service. These lanes quickly fill up with more cars and the highway quickly returns to its previous low level of service. What happened were those additional lanes made it much easier for everyone to continue their bad habit of driving to work, school, home, errands, entertainment, etc... Once the highway was expanded and "improved", travel times eased and development began to occur farther and farther away, generating more vehicle trips and miles traveled. These new trips quickly filled the space of the expanded highway. Adding more lanes to highways encourages development on the periphery, merely delays future congestion, and perpetuates a sedentary, automobile-oriented lifestyle. The car need not be vilified for it has brought a great many of advantages. However, there needs to be a balance between automobile, mass transit, bus, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to provide the maximum amount of transportation options for all citizens to enjoy the freedom of mobility. Will this need for a balance in the transportation sector be reflected in your budget and/or the next transportation re-authorization bill?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP