A great viewpoint in yesterday's S-P from Dr. Bob Patrick from the U of S. Go Bob!
Building our way out of congestion impossible task
By Robert Patrick, The StarPhoenix September 9, 2010
Following is the viewpoint of Patrick, an assistant professor in the school of environment and sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan.
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Saskatoon's current roadway congestion has left many wondering when this all will end.
The recent, and indefinite, closure of the Traffic Bridge is the latest piece of bad news for area motorists. Gridlock on Broadway Avenue was something unimaginable to me as a new resident to Saskatoon just two years ago.
However, will wider roads, more connectors, and additional (modern) bridges be the cure for increasingly frustrated motorists in Saskatoon? The experience in other urban regions across North America and the world says "No."
What is well known is that the addition of road capacity with bridges, highways and the like has proven time and time again to increase our automobile dependency, a condition that leads to more road congestion, not less. So, like everywhere else, the traffic woes of Saskatoon will not go away by adding more roadways.
That said, there are many good reasons to build efficient road networks.
Emergency services need good roads, and so does public transit and taxi service. Moving hazardous goods and commercial transport, too, depend on efficient roadways. As well, the private motorists needs accommodation too, and let's not forget the increasing presence of cyclists, boarders, joggers, and pedestrians.
Accommodating these multiple road users is a huge challenge. However, the thought that more bridges and roads will decrease congestion is wholly misguided.
Cities with the greatest road infrastructure also have the highest per capita usage of cars, leading to, yes, more congestion. To make things worse, higher rates of private car usage equates to higher per capita carbon dioxide production, road accidents and fatalities and, generally, less livable cities.
Adding road capacity also encourages urban sprawl, a condition that requires more roads and encourages more car use, all counter to good urbanism principles.
In North America, Portland, Ore., long ago made the connection between road capacity, congestion and livable cities. By dismantling an inner-city highway in the 1960s and embarking on a highly efficient public transit system, it jumped to the forefront of good urbanism. San Francisco and Boston both took similar action in the 1980s. The trade off was not more traffic, but less, as alternative, and more sustainable forms of mobility took hold.
Cities such as Toronto and Sydney, Australia, today lament their construction of auto-era elevated freeways in the inner city, and are considering their demolition. Vancouver in the 1970s looked at extending a freeway into the downtown to its north shore, but cancelled those plans over public protest.
A 1990s survey of world cities by Australian transportation experts showed the direct relationship between road capacity, car usage and carbon dioxide production.
Adding road capacity may, for a short period of time, relieve road congestion. But along with that relief is enticement to get back into that single occupant vehicle. The vicious cycle resumes of congestion, followed by adding road capacity, followed by more congestion.
So what to do? First, we need to recognize these associations: Road capacity, congestion, livable cities, good urbanism. A good transportation system first moves people, not cars.
So, find ways to make public transit more viable through dedicated bus lanes, taxi lanes, and perhaps for Saskatoon, a back-to-the future downtown streetcar? Find ways to prioritize accessibility and not just provide the means for mobility.
Populate downtown areas where services already exist (the city has some good examples). Encourage alternative forms of mobility, better bike lanes and pedestrian routes. Good examples are now spreading across North America.
None of this is easy, but all of this is necessary. Attempting to build our way out of congestion will never work. It never has. The current situation in Saskatoon provides proof.
The traffic snarls in Saskatoon should motivate us all to demand a different future for this terrific city. Planning for people, not cars, is a good place to start.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
Read more:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/today...le+task/3498837/story.html#ixzz0zAQryLgp
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