{"id":142529970,"date":"2009-07-08T15:39:30","date_gmt":"2009-07-08T15:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=142529970"},"modified":"2009-07-08T15:39:30","modified_gmt":"2009-07-08T15:39:30","slug":"4-cases-of-how-tearing-down-a-highway-can-relieve-traffic-jams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=142529970","title":{"rendered":"4 Cases Of How Tearing Down A Highway Can Relieve Traffic Jams"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230;<br \/>\nOne example is reducing traffic congestion by eliminating roads. Though our transportation planners still operate from the orthodoxy that the best way to untangle traffic is to build more roads, doing so actually proves counterproductive in some cases. There is even a mathematical theorem to explain why: \u201cThe Braess Paradox\u201d (which sounds rather like a Robert Ludlum title) established that the addition of extra capacity to a road network often results in increased congestion and longer travel times. The reason has to do with the complex effects of individual drivers all trying to optimize their routes. The Braess paradox is not just an arcane bit of theory either \u2013 it plays frequently in real world situation.<br \/>\nLikewise, there is the phenomenon of induced demand \u2013 or the \u201cif you build it, they will come\u201d effect. In short, fancy new roads encourage people to drive more miles, as well as seeding new sprawl-style development that shifts new users onto them.<br \/>\nOf course, improving congestion is not the main reason why a city would want to knock down a poorly planned highway\u2013the reasons for that are plentiful, and might include improving citizen health, restoring the local environment, and energizing the regional economy. More efficient traffic flow is just a wonderful side benefit.<br \/>\nSound dubious? Here are several examples of how three cities (and their drivers) have fared better after highways that should never have been built in the first place were taken down.<br \/>\nCASE 1: Seoul, South Korea &#8211; Cheonggycheon highway<br \/>\nCASE 2: Portland, Oregon &#8211; Harbor Drive<br \/>\nCASE 3: San Francisco &#8211; Embarcadero Freeway<br \/>\nCASE 4: San Francisco &#8211; Central Freeway<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.infrastructurist.com\/2009\/07\/06\/huh-4-cases-of-how-tearing-down-a-highway-can-relieve-traffic-jams-and-help-save-a-city\/\">https:\/\/www.infrastructurist.com\/2009\/07\/06\/huh-4-cases-of-how-tearing-down-a-highway-can-relieve-traffic-jams-and-help-save-a-city\/<\/a>oldId.20090708153930769<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; One example is reducing traffic congestion by eliminating roads. Though our transportation planners still operate from the orthodoxy that the best way to untangle traffic is to build more roads, doing so actually proves counterproductive in some cases. There is even a mathematical theorem to explain why: \u201cThe Braess Paradox\u201d (which sounds rather like &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=142529970\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;4 Cases Of How Tearing Down A Highway Can Relieve Traffic Jams&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142529970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biking-elsewhere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142529970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=142529970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142529970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=142529970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=142529970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=142529970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}