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Title:

Cases in Congestion Resilience: Fostering High-Functioning Regional Economies Despite Gridlock

Accession Number:

01473502

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Congestion alleviation has served as a key surface transportation program objective, but traditional policy portfolios (excluding pricing) have been not yielded significant congestion alleviation benefits. But while the importance of enabling high-functioning places despite congestion is becoming increasingly apparent, existing research provides little guidance. Links are comparatively clearer between capacity building or travel demand management and economic growth, system efficiency outcomes, and individual welfare improvements. But common capacity building and demand management policies have been unsuccessful at alleviating congestion. Researchers broadly agree that congestion pricing is a necessary precondition for significant congestion alleviation, but pricing remains politically unpalatable. The outlook for transportation policy to meaningfully reduce congestion is poor in the current political climate, yet it remains unclear how transportation policy can contribute to high-functioning regions despite congestion. To identify “better” regional adaptations to congestion, I explore congestion resilience using a metric of economic growth per unit “cost” of congestion growth. Using case studies of high-congestion metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the author explores policies distinguishing congestion resilient Los Angeles and Washington, DC from congestion unresilient Chicago and Houston. Case study results suggest that there appear to be important roles for road policy, public transit policy, and urban spatial structure in distinguishing the congestion resilient from congestion unresilient regions

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD10 Transportation and Economic Development.

Monograph Accession #:

01470560

Report/Paper Numbers:

13-3706

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Sweet, Matthias

Pagination:

18p

Publication Date:

2013

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2013-1-13 to 2013-1-17
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Identifier Terms:

Metropolitan Statistical Areas

Uncontrolled Terms:

Resilience (Adaptability)

Subject Areas:

Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I73: Traffic Control

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-3706

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Feb 5 2013 12:44PM