By Tanya Albert

CINCINNATI-Widening and building new highways actually causes, not relieves, traffic congestion in Cincinnati and other major U.S. metropolitan areas, according to a new study presented today to the 79th Annual Transportation Research Board in Washington, DC. The study estimated that up to 43% of traffic in Greater Cincinnati is caused just by expanding the area's road network. The study also says that Tri-State traffic congestion would have grown less rapidly if no new or wider highways were built at all, contrary to what highway planners have predicted.
The study, "Analysis of Metropolitan Highway Capacity and the Growth in Vehicle Miles of Travel," used data from the Texas Transportation Institute's most recent database for 70 urbanized areas from 1982-1996. Using three models with different variables, the study found that highway-induced traffic in the Cincinnati area (including Northern Kentucky) increased by 14%-43%. Highway-induced traffic estimates for nearby metropolitan areas were 12%-35% in Columbus; 13%-30% in Cleveland; 20%-50% in Indianapolis; and 34%-77% in Louisville. The national average was 15%-45%.
"Simply put, this study adds to the growing evidence that traffic congestion has been made worse, not alleviated as road builders claim, by more and bigger highways. It follows that to reduce traffic congestion, and therefore air pollution and suburban sprawl, we need to stop building and widening sprawl-causing highways," said Glen Brand, director of the Cincinnati office of the National Sierra Club. "Instead it would be smarter to plan our communities better so that we aren't forced to drive everywhere, and to provide greater transportation choices such as commuter light rail and expanded bus service."
The study's authors, Robert Noland, University of London Center for Transport Studies and William A. Cowart, ICF Consulting in Fairfax, VA., conclude that "induced travel effects strongly imply that pursuit of congestion reduction by building more capacity will have short-lived benefits. This may be evidence for a strong sprawl inducing impact of large increases in lane mile capacity relative to the existing infrastructure. Recognition of these impacts implies that the benefits of new highway construction are less than would be calculated from a static analysis that included no induced travel impacts."
Currently, highway expansion is occurring all over the Tri-State, including widening of I-71 and I-75, the new Butler County Regional Highway, and a proposed Eastgate highway in Clermont County.
"In the light of this new research, policy-makers, including County commissioners and engineers, Ohio Department of Transportation, and Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Council of Regional Governments, need to re-calculate the benefits and costs of highway expansion, said Sierra Club's Brand. "We are calling for a balanced transportation program that spends as much on travel choices such as clean buses and light rail trains as on building new sprawl-and-congestion-causing highways."
Haynes Goddard, Professor of Economics at the University of Cincinnati with expertise in transportation economics, said that "this study is a careful statistical analysis of the perverse effects of insufficiently considered highway investments, and how they can make our region a less desirable place to live. It makes it clear that putting all of our proverbial transport eggs in the highway basket reduces the economic vitality of our region".
One study in Oregon showed that by planning development so that people have easy access to commuter trains and other public transportation choice, traffic for new development can be reduced from 10 car trips per day to 6 trips per day.
"If people are tired of being stuck in sprawl mall traffic, we need to promote smarter planning and increase travel choices, not just build more highways," said Brett Hulsey, coordinator of the Sierra Club Challenge to Sprawl Campaign. "More roads lead to more traffic like bigger pants tend to lead to more weight gain. We need to change our philosophy to reduce, not increase sprawl and traffic."
The Sierra Club is calling on state and local leaders to spend at least half of their transportation money on safety improvements to existing streets and roads, and for public transportation alternatives, and promote traffic impact analysis on new sprawl development, and good planning measures to minimize traffic.