Quote:
Originally Posted by aberdeen5698
The problem is commuters, not goods movement. Did you read the article? Most of the truckers avoid the rush hours anyway, the congestion is being caused by commuters. According to the article if you could divert just 400 cars a day then traffic would go back to the way it was before all this recent congestion started.
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aberdeen5698, I read the article but (such) articles don't always articulate wider pictures. The American freeway system was not originally built for private commuter traffic but rather to accommodate Cold War era military traffic across the country. Over time, big business in the U.S and private commuters came to appreciate the relative speed/time saving/potential money saving benefits of such freeway use. Hence when you look at the freeway configuration of say Los Angeles you'll see that there is a primary North-South freeway (re: the Interstate 5) designated to handle crucial Mexico to Canada commercial/truck traffic, along with complementary (local traffic based) North-South alternatives like the 605, 405 and the 710 etc. which dissect the metro area. Vancouver (for a number of reasons) however has only a single major East-West freeway system (re: the Trans Canada Highway 1) with which to handle crucial cross-country commercial traffic and local commuters (which presents a heightened opportunity for gridlock and a potential long-term liability for industry/business)!
Finally, while I agree with you that mass transit options can help alleviate Highway 1 congestion some (in the short term), over time myriad dynamic regional growth factors will serve to negate such gains and place a spotlight on the lack of freeway alternatives.
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