ILS1
05-10-2005, 06:56 PM
By Kate Alexander
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
For the fifth consecutive year, Austin earned the dubious distinction of being the most congested medium-size city in the country, according to a national analysis of urban traffic.
Rush-hour traffic inched along Austin's streets and highways at a slightly slower pace in 2003, the most recent year that data are available.
Over the year, traffic congestion consumed 51 hours on average for each peak-hour driver, up one hour from the year before, according to the 2005 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute.
Compared to 2002, the increase in travel time is minimal. But the delay was more than twice the 1993 figure.
The 2003 delay time put Austin on par with the congestion levels of much larger cities, including Miami and Boston, and far above the average level of other cities with populations from 500,000 to 1 million, the study revealed.
The cost of the delay extends beyond frustration. Texas A&M University researchers David Schrank and Tim Lomax, who conducted the annual analysis of 85 urban areas, estimate that Austin's congestion cost $391 million in lost time and excess fuel -- $851 per rush-hour traveler.
Much of the nation is seeing worsening traffic conditions. Across the country, congestion caused 3.7 billion hours of delay at a cost of $63.1 billion, an increase of about $1 billion since 2002.
The researchers say a lack of investment in roadways nationwide is one of the culprits for the creeping traffic. Transportation improvements have not kept pace with growth, Lomax said. At a national media interview Monday, he used Austin as the poster child for underinvestment.
"Austin didn't add transportation capacity in the '80s or '90s," Lomax told The Associated Press. "The 'If you don't build it, they won't come' philosophy didn't work."
Austin is building now. With five new toll roads and a commuter rail system on the horizon, Austin "might be able to make some progress on congestion," Lomax said in an interview.
"Depending upon how much of the new infrastructure is really used, I think it could actually draw away some of the inner-city traffic," he said.
But do not expect smooth sailing as a result of new improvements. The researchers warn that the pace of road-building has to exceed the rate of growth to reduce congestion.
Austin has already implemented many of the recommended methods for smoothing the flow of traffic, such as synchronizing traffic lights and clearing stalled vehicles from the highway. But there are some opportunities for reducing the delay -- or at least slowing the increase of the delay -- by employing high-occupancy lanes and controlling access to freeways from the on-ramps.
Enough people used public transportation in 2003 in Austin to save peak-time drivers an average of six hours a year, which translates into $49 million in congestion costs. Without public transportation, the researchers found, Austin would have seen a 13 percent increase in annual delays, among the highest in the country for mid-size cities.
kalexander@statesman.com; 445-3618
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
For the fifth consecutive year, Austin earned the dubious distinction of being the most congested medium-size city in the country, according to a national analysis of urban traffic.
Rush-hour traffic inched along Austin's streets and highways at a slightly slower pace in 2003, the most recent year that data are available.
Over the year, traffic congestion consumed 51 hours on average for each peak-hour driver, up one hour from the year before, according to the 2005 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute.
Compared to 2002, the increase in travel time is minimal. But the delay was more than twice the 1993 figure.
The 2003 delay time put Austin on par with the congestion levels of much larger cities, including Miami and Boston, and far above the average level of other cities with populations from 500,000 to 1 million, the study revealed.
The cost of the delay extends beyond frustration. Texas A&M University researchers David Schrank and Tim Lomax, who conducted the annual analysis of 85 urban areas, estimate that Austin's congestion cost $391 million in lost time and excess fuel -- $851 per rush-hour traveler.
Much of the nation is seeing worsening traffic conditions. Across the country, congestion caused 3.7 billion hours of delay at a cost of $63.1 billion, an increase of about $1 billion since 2002.
The researchers say a lack of investment in roadways nationwide is one of the culprits for the creeping traffic. Transportation improvements have not kept pace with growth, Lomax said. At a national media interview Monday, he used Austin as the poster child for underinvestment.
"Austin didn't add transportation capacity in the '80s or '90s," Lomax told The Associated Press. "The 'If you don't build it, they won't come' philosophy didn't work."
Austin is building now. With five new toll roads and a commuter rail system on the horizon, Austin "might be able to make some progress on congestion," Lomax said in an interview.
"Depending upon how much of the new infrastructure is really used, I think it could actually draw away some of the inner-city traffic," he said.
But do not expect smooth sailing as a result of new improvements. The researchers warn that the pace of road-building has to exceed the rate of growth to reduce congestion.
Austin has already implemented many of the recommended methods for smoothing the flow of traffic, such as synchronizing traffic lights and clearing stalled vehicles from the highway. But there are some opportunities for reducing the delay -- or at least slowing the increase of the delay -- by employing high-occupancy lanes and controlling access to freeways from the on-ramps.
Enough people used public transportation in 2003 in Austin to save peak-time drivers an average of six hours a year, which translates into $49 million in congestion costs. Without public transportation, the researchers found, Austin would have seen a 13 percent increase in annual delays, among the highest in the country for mid-size cities.
kalexander@statesman.com; 445-3618