Recently, Harris County shocked a lot of people by proposing to expand the Katy Freeway to 22 lanes, four more than the existing plan to add seven lanes to the 11-lane freeway. Aside from U.S. Representative John Culberson and Judge Robert Eckels, there aren' t many people in positions of power left in the United States who believe we can build our way out of traffic congestion. Elected officials promote massive highway projects not only because there are astonishing amounts of money that flow around them, but also because traffic congestion is now right up there with crime in the top concerns of citizens.
People hate it, and the bad news is that there is probably no cure.
There is no effective remedy for traffic congestion. Common sense suggests that if we build more freeways or widen the ones we have, we will gain relief. In fact, what happens is that people who are not now using them will begin to do so, and they will quickly fill up again. At the recent American Planning Association conference, a speaker asked his audience of about 400 professional planners how many of them thought expanding highways would reduce congestion. About 10 percent raised their hands.