I was pleased to have the opportunity to have an op-ed produced on transportation in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on January 17. The op-ed, entitled “Arterial system needed” argued that the most important thing the Atlanta metropolitan area could do to reduce traffic congestion would be to develop a decent arterial street system, something that, unbelievably, does not exist today. Regrettably, the permitted length of the op-ed did not permit much elaboration of the point, or mention of other important issues.
In metropolitan areas with effective arterial street systems (such as Los Angeles), there is usually a surface alternative to a grid-locked freeway. A skilled driver can use these alternate routes and avoid much of the frustration of congestion. This may or may not improve travel times, but it is certainly better for the psyche. In Atlanta, there are few alternatives to the freeways and even the freeway system itself is very sparse.
The principal elaboration for which I wish additional space had been available had to do with the role of transit. Many Atlanta officials are of the view that transit is the solution to traffic congestion. Many of them join pilgrimages to Portland (Oregon), where planners are only too happy to reinforce this view, with their doctrine to the effect that transit has transformed their urban area. The reality is that, after nearly 25 years of major transit improvements, transit’s market share in the Portland area is about the same as it was before.
There are proposals to expand the MARTA transit system and tax from the core counties of Fulton and DeKalb to suburban counties. It is hard to imagine a more counterproductive policy approach. This would shower the overly-costly MARTA system with a stream of revenue with which its out of control costs per mile could escalate. The additional cost to taxpayers and riders would be far in excess of any potential benefits. MARTA’s principal problem is not lack of funding; it is rather insufficient cost control.
The reality is that to reduce traffic congestion, transit would need to attract a large share of urban trips. In fact, however, whether in Paris, Portland or Atlanta, the transit system that could compete for most metropolitan trips has not yet been conceived of, much less developed or even proposed. Because of the necessity to travel from every point in an urban area to every other point, this is simply impossible. The vast majority of travel demand in all major urban areas of the United States and Western Europe is for personal mobility – automobiles – simply because there is no choice in their modern, affluent economies.
Comments
21 responses to “Traffic Congestion in Atlanta”
Mr. Cox,
Do you really believe that the free market is the most important tool in solving all public policy problems? Should we abandon rail transit simply because supporting it does not adhere to the doctrine of Adam Smith? You discount the fact that MARTA provides a non-quantifiable public good to the residents of Metro Atlanta. It is imperative for a high-growth city like Atlanta to plan for the future, and to attempt to take cars off the road. Less cars and more pedestrian-friendly areas are more livable. Extending rail transit is a responsible way to plan for future growth – a future where oil will likely be at $100/barrel. Just because Atlanta is a sprawling and auto-dependent city doesn’t mean that no one should bother to do things otherwise in the future.
I live in New York City, where our transit system is essential and also unprofitable. Should NYC shut down its transit system because as a result? Now obviously Atlanta isn’t dependent on transit the way NYC is, but the removal of cars from the road; the creation of new urbanist neighborhoods; transporation alternatives for those who do not own a car; and the reduced dependency on oil, are all undoubtedly public goods.
If all U.S. cities followed your policy prescriptions, we would have sprawl as far as the eye can see, and a further ingraining of our auto-obsessed, drive-thru culture. But if I read your columns correctly, if it saves a few bucks, then why not?
Dear Jay,
Mr. Cox is suggesting that, in the case of Atlanta, there is little justification for devoting over 50% of long term transportation expenditures for mass transit. Having read through the document “A Common Sense Approach to Transportation in the Atlanta Region” I would tend to concur that an emphasis on mass transit in the Atlanta region is likely to be counter productive in the long run for that particular region.
Such an emphasis is not likely to be the case only in a handful of other urban regions in the US such as your beloved New York City along with Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and San Francisco. Let’s get serious people, that about does the major transit cities in the US. The effective percentage of people commuting to their job via mass transit in the US is going to be minuscule for the foreseeable future. Forget about ordinary day to day non-work transport.
Mr. Cox is simply pointing out a reality, not some simple fantasy.
As far as total miles of roadways in Atlanta, it is not lacking in miles compared to other urban areas in the US, and is ranked 4th in the US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2007/hm71.cfm
I do notice that Atlanta has a larger number of roadway miles concentrated towards local streets than most UAs. I suppose those mindless, dead-end local street cul-de-sacs are finally catching up to them that put extra VMT on their already maxed out collector-arterial-highway system.
Anyways, wouldn’t actual lane miles be a better way to determine capacity vs. road centerline length? Atlanta already has one of the widest highways in terms of total lanes in the US cutting through its downtown and outskirts:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/tables/01.cfm
Atlanta also has one of the highest Daily vehicle miles traveled per capita in the US, and one of the highest roadway miles per capita in the US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2007/hm72.cfm
I’m not totally convinced it’s really a lack of road capacity that has created so much congestion in Atlanta, to be quite honest. Anyone else convinced?
> I live in New York City, where our transit system is essential
> and also unprofitable.
Unprofitable? The N.Y. MTA (and the transit agencies that came before it) were not profitable.
But I think the better way to describe the New York MTA is like this:
Profoundly auto-dependent.
Without the N.Y. MTA’s toll-paying customers, the buses and trains in New York City and its suburbs would immediately come to a halt.
Without the MTA, the whole NY metropolitan area would grind to a halt. We saw that during the 2005 transit strike. NYC is absolutely transit dependent.
I think its absurd to suggest that the MTA (or any transit agency) should be “profitable”. The MTA is providing a public service. A lot of the services it provides — rides for the disabled or free subway fare for schoolkids, for instance — could never be profitable, but it provides those services because they are public benefits. It is no different from other free or subsidized public services like schools, police, libraries or roads and highways.
It’s only ridiculous to say that transit — or specifically the MTA in this case — be profitable when the actual US road system is not even “profitable” or even remotely able to pay for itself.
> Without the MTA, the whole NY metropolitan area would grind
> to a halt. We saw that during the 2005 transit strike.
> NYC is absolutely transit dependent.
And by implication, NYC is absolutely auto-dependent, for its transit system cannot operate without the generous subsidies it receives from users of the NYC highway network generally, and NYMTA Bridge and Tunnel in particular.
Yes, some of the MTA’s revenue sources come from the bridges and tunnels (although far less than the portion coming from fares). That doesn’t make New York “auto dependent” — the MTA could just as well be funded out of higher fares or out of general fund taxes. It is a public choice to put some of the burden on drivers.
Read your AJC piece, some thoughts:
(1) “[T]the modern urban area requires effective personal mobility — a road system that can take one from every square foot of the urban area to every other in a reasonable time.”
Alternatively, development could occur along existing fixed routes such that every permutation of Point A-to-B was not necessary. In that utopia, commuters would have true alternatives… not just in which roads to take, but which modes.
(2) With regard to MARTA, you throw around “overly-costly” without backing it up. I wonder what numbers you are using. MARTA’s operating expenses are among the lowest for systems of its size.
Among all directly-operated heavy rail services in the US, it ranks
– FIRST in terms of cost per mile
– FIRST in terms of cost per employee hour
– FOURTH in cost per trip
(NTD, 2008)
(3) Couldn’t help but notice that you were previously with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. There is a commuter’s dream. I think Atlanta may be better off without your help.
I hate buying new cars, there is too big of a chance that you will get into an accident in a congested area, like Atlanta for example. I live in Philly, so I went to used car in Philadelphia to buy a cheap car that would be reliable and I wouldn’t care if I got into a fender bender with.
I am from Ireland and driving on the streets of Atlanta turned out to be a little difficult for me, because I don’t know the shorter or less crowded routes, the ones that a skilled driver could take, avoiding much of the frustration of congestion. I must admit I’m concerned regarding the car insurance Ireland has offered.
The one of the major reason for the traffic congestion is the increased population and the increased number of private cars. SO I personally think that Instead of using the private car let it be shared with the other, this will help to minimize the fuel consumption and the pollution.
http://www.motorexpress.net/
I would have to agree with
“Without the MTA, the whole NY metropolitan area would grind to a halt. We saw that during the 2005 transit strike. NYC is absolutely transit dependent.”
It does provide a public service and with the rising costs of car insurance it is sometimes options number one!
Traffic congestion is definitely a sore topic for Atlanta and many other major cities. In the future I think we’ll see a lot more compact cars and perhaps even car-sharing systems since many urban dwellers may not require the use of a car on a daily basis.
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A lot of vehicles on the road creates traffic congestion in Atlanta so motorist, pedestrian and other vehicle users face problem at the time of driving. Motorist and pedestrian does not follow traffic rules properly for which accidents happens. Skilled driver can use alternate routes for avoiding congestion but this is not the solution of reducing traffic congestion. City administrator should take proper attention for reducing traffic congestion by developing a decent arterial street system.
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