Do Your Buses Get Stuck in Traffic? Traffic solutions & the Downs-Thomson Paradox
Channel: Not Just Bikes
Date: 2020-03-09

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Do your buses get stuck in traffic? It's amazing what a difference it makes to life the city when public transit is treated as a first-class alternative to driving, as it is in Amsterdam, and many other cities in the Netherlands.

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The Downs-Thomson Paradox on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs%E2%80%93Thomson_paradox

The description of the Downs-Thomson paradox is simplified in this video, but in general, this principal applies. Technically it is possible to meet demand for car traffic, but in practice, this is unaffordable, simply due to the amount of infrastructure required per person carried by car: there is no city that has done this in a sustainable way (as StrongTowns.org is keen to point out). More information can be found at StrongTowns.org, in articles such as this one: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/10/2/does-new-development-cause-traffic and this one: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/10/18/dealing-with-congestion

The Dutch traffic per hour graph was taken from this report:
3e Publieksrapportage Rijkswegennet 2017
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2018/03/12/3e-publieksrapportage-rijkswegennet-2017

The graph of daily traffic in a car-dependant city is based off of the graph here:
https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/when-is-chicagoarea-traffic-the-worst/73cf66f9-8a44-4227-8619-68220de78ad3
Comparing the traffic volumes between countries is difficult, as they use different methods of measuring traffic, so don't take this comparison too literally; it's meant to be illustrative.

Footage of New York provided by YouTuber Walk NYC:
Walk NYC: 10/3/2019 New 14th St Traffic Regulation "Busway"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw2WWe5YAD0

Footage of San Fransico provided by YouTuber UpDownAcross38:
First day of Car-Free Market Street. 2/10/2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ty77iKzkQA