A subdivision with only one entrance onto a road automatically funnels all the traffic to that one road. Every trip out of or into the subdivision puts another car on the road, increasing congestion, eventually necessitating more improvements. On the other hand, a subdivision designed with access to more than one roadway will spread its traffic over a broader area, thus reducing the impacts at any one location. Design can also impact future transportation choices. Low density development virtually mandates reliance on the personal car, as it becomes prohibitively expensive for public transit to serve this type of development where the potential riders and potential destinations are spread out over a large area.
Road widening or new roads often are the only solution given serious consideration.
Transportation and land use decisions which rely on the car also have a tremendous impact on personal budgets. In the average household, transportation costs are the second largest expenditure, following housing. 3 Think of the uses for that extra money if our communities offered options that made it possible not to own a second car. The long-term impacts of our land use and transportation decisions are critical to our quality of life. No longer can we afford to make transportation and land use decisions without consciously considering these impacts.