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EquivalentBarracuda4 t1_j88zw7y wrote

Reply to comment by Best_Line6674 in Bronx is snubbed as MTA pursues IBX plan by Best_Line6674

Have you heard about the term “induced demand”?

Less traffic -> motivates new development -> more population -> more traffic.

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Best_Line6674 OP t1_j8a7gqv wrote

Well, I've heard of new roads/bridges being opened to lessen traffic on an existing road way or so, and so say that they did build a tunnel on LI. Would people really care to live there now if the tunnel is completed? They could've been wanted to live there, why now with a tunnel?

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EquivalentBarracuda4 t1_j8a7v5a wrote

Please read how induced demand works. There are plenty of videos on YouTube about this topic. Adding more lanes, bridges, etc solves traffic only on the near term. In the long term it will never work.

Ask yourself: how come that we still have traffic with those fancy multi lane highways? How come adding more lanes did not solve the traffic?

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Best_Line6674 OP t1_j8abn4i wrote

It does work long term? Extra lanes doesn't do much, no, but more roadways/bridges have shown to reduce traffic, depending on where traffic really wants to go. Adding more lanes didn't do much because everyone's going that same way. Add another road, you'll have less people going that way. I've played Cities Skylines (which doesn't mean much), but adding more lanes does change a bit, but definitely not enough at all. For example, have one highway in a city for people to get in and out. You'll get traffic.

Adding a lane won't change anything because it will just allow more cars to fill in, but still traffic. Add another highway on the city's border going a bit of a different direction of that highway, but still having a similar route, more cars that are closer to that roadway, or people living near said roadway, are more likely to go on that route, reducing traffic on the other highway.

Say that you live on LI, now you have to drive all the way down through NYC, to get to Connecticut, instead of simply just going to Connecticut. Add an extra lane on the bridges, it won't change much, you're still going to add on to the rest of the cars on the road. Tunnel? Avoid those bridges, won't even need an extra lane, because you're one less car on the road.

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