According to a recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute, Washington metro area drivers loose an average of 70 hours a year to traffic congestion, the very worst in the country.
Source: “Traffic Eases Nationwide, but Not in Washington Area” ; “Are’s No. rank in traffic delays leaves a lot to curse about”
Ellen Dunham-Jones, author of Retrofitting Suburbia, presents her ideas at Atlanta’s recent TED convention. She discusses the viability and necessity to re-adapt suburbia into a livable community, addressing obesity, autodependancy, climate change, and more. The video was endorsed by The Washington Post’s Erza Klein.
A recent FHA study shows that despite lowered gas prices and a recovering economy demand for gas is 4% lower than before the recession. This trend suggests that Americans are choosing alternative transportation to driving, have moved closer to work and commercial zones, or are less likely to commute to work (likely a lingering effect of high unemployment). It will be interesting to see if this trend continues through the summer when demand for gas conventionally increases.
Full Story: “Shaky economy still keeping Americans off the road”
Because of President Obama’s continuation and adaptation of the Livability Initiative, policy towards transportation and infrastructure will become more diverse. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHoodhas announced that policy will no longer favor motorized transportation, writing that “This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.” This new focus will help break down the barriers to pedestrian traffic.
Source: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/63290
Department of Transportation Policy Statement, March 15th, 2010
-Philip Langdon, A Better Place to Live (1994)
In an effort to mend the state’s traffic and financial issues Virginia has implemented a policy effectively banning the development of new cul-de-sacs. Subdivisions will be required to have multiple entrances and through streets, connecting them to neighboring communities, schools and shopping areas.
With only one entrance to subdivisions, suburban cul-de-sacs create networks of high traffic roadways as private dead-end roads funnel directly into overburdened arterial roads. The current system “forces drivers to enter these traffic-choked roads to go even 50 yards or so to the neighborhood coffeehouse or elementary school.” Over the next few years this new policy will dramatically change Virginia’s suburban landscape, minimizing stress on existing roadways, cutting costs of government services, increasing density, and likely increasing walkability in the suburbs.
Full Story: In Va., Vision of Suburbia at a Crossroads
The New York Times Recognizes Virginia’s Cul-De-Sac Ban as one of the Top Ideas of 2009
Source: The Washington Post, 22 March 2009
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