Is traffic congestion actually good for us?
No one enjoys being stuck in traffic. In lieu of teleportation, drivers naturally want to get the chore of driving over as soon as possible and to enjoy free flowing movement throughout city streets. And, after decades of placating driver by prioritizing traffic flows for cars, a system has developed which avoids traffic-related delays at all costs.
Here’s the problem: streets are a system; a living, holistic system. And like any living system, a balance must be struck. In the Hudson Valley, we have invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed and Water Chestnuts, which choke out other forms of life and disrupt the balance of life. The disruptive nature of invasive species is uncannily reminiscent of the unbalanced allocation of public resources which allows travel by car to flourish, while drowning out other modes of transport.
What does this have to do with traffic congestion?
The more we try to placate drivers by allowing them to drive at higher speeds, with fewer stops and shorter wait times at lights, the more dangerous and inconvenient it becomes to walk, ride a bike or hop onto transit. A city street that is hospitable for humans outside of cars would allow only slow speeds and require frequent yielding. Driving a car in a city should not feel easy breezy, it should demand vigilance and care.
In the absence of traffic calming street design, congestion slows down cars and forces drivers to pay attention. The slower traffic has measurable effects on pedestrian safety. For example, a study found a strong relationship between car speed and the likelihood that cars would yield for pedestrians in a crosswalk. Cars going 20 mph or less were likely to stop, while cars going 25 mph or more were unlikely to stop for pedestrians.
Since cars were first introduced over 100 years ago, we have been slowly been indoctrinated to normalize deadly speed limits (if hit at 30 mph, there is a 20% chance of pedestrian death), dangerous maneuvers such as right-on-red, and sparse pedestrian crossings in order to maximize traffic flows for cars, on the very streets where we live, work and play.
Instead, we should be asking how we can restore balance to the ecosystem of the streets, and simultaneously to the larger ecosystem on which our lives rely. We can do this by de-prioritizing traffic flow, and instead re-designing streets to allow human life to flourish.
Excellent piece lots to think about. Thank you
True but alternatives barely exist: buses travel infrequently; Lyft and Uber discourage car pooling; even reflective materials for coats barely exist. Where to begin now ?