why does adding more traffic lanes doesn’t help to alleviate traffic congestion?
In: 26
Adding lanes draws more cars onto highways and roads, leading to the same congestion as before. This is called “induced demand”.
It’s theoretically possible to have enough lanes such that anyone who wants to drive can do so whenever they want without congestion. In large cities especially, this is functionally impossible as there is simply not enough physical space for all that road (see California’s 20+ lane highways).
Cars are simply far too inefficient spacewise. How traffic congestion is actually reduced is taking lanes away from cars and turning them into pure bus lanes, tram and train lines, bike lanes, and sidewalks. By encouraging people to use highly efficient public transit instead of a car, people that do still choose to drive will experience less congestion and will find roads generally more pleasant to use.
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