dirtybobby said:
telling people to "get out of their cars" is not a solution.. would it fix the problem? yes...
If you acknowledge it would fix the problem, then it is a solution isn't it...?
if you honestly think that a better road system does not equal less congestion then there is simply no point trying to even discuss it with you..
It doesn't come down to what I think, it comes down to what is proven the world over. That putting in more road capacity - whether that's wider roads or clever traffic management - leads to more traffic. One third of the land area of Los Angeles is roads or car park, and its still hideously congested. Its been proven time and again in the UK that as new road capacity is added, more traffic comes along and fills it in. It isn't anything new either - its in research going back 50 years+. An example locally is the M6 - M6 Toll is built, it carries 40,000ish vehicles a day, the M6 through the West Mids is now back to pre-M6T levels of traffic...
there are more people in the world, and more cars.. we have the technology to build more roads.. we will use it.. will there come a point where we can't build any more roads? yes, but we're not there yet..
Only a very small minority of the world's population have a car, and yet the mayhem caused by traffic is significant. It isn't technology that's the issue. Aside from the fact that in most urban areas there is not the space for any more roads, it isn't desirable either - economically, socially or environmentally. With public spending about to be slashed, neither will more road space be affordable.
you can't build your way out of a congestion crisis, but you can optimise the road systems you have to alleviate the pressure as much as possible..
Most of the optimising has already been done and any capacity it creates is filled up...
a car all to yourself, air conditioned, stereo on, connected to your phone via bluetooth, etc.. can't see many people swapping that for sitting on a cramped bus with the proles..
Don't start me on bluetooth phones. Any phones in cars handsfree or not is down right dangerous.
Actually people will swap their car - where public transport has been invested in seriously it does bring about a shift from the car. In London where there's a lot more investment in buses, the types of passengers using the bus is much different to outside London. In places like Cambridge, York and Oxford where parking is restricted or very expensive the numbers of people using the bus or cycling is much higher.
Ultimately the level of car use there is generally is unsustainable and things have got to change. I'm not anti-car either, as otherwise I wouldn't have one, but at the same time I ain't going to stick my head in the sand about the problems they cause!