An example of suburban sprawl.

A result of the transformation of the American Highway System in the 50s and 60s, the interstate has lead to wide spread horizontal growth in regions outside of the main city center.  It has cemented the age of the automobile in our society for generations and there is no end in sight.  Most people can only travel between their home and the supermarket or the gym by car.

Horizontal suburban sprawl has led to the demise of the train and bus because there is no warrant to have service in a low density place.  It wouldn’t be viable.  If we were to somehow manage to control the growth of the horizontal sprawl and instead have it as vertical sprawl then a public transportation system may be warranted to serve that area because of the higher density of people (more customers).  However, the US government is encouraging such growth with low gasoline taxes relative to European nations and a lack of incentives to encourage mass transit.  It encourages people to drive and live farther away from work which leads to more gasoline consumption.  With petroleum products running out, I predict that there would be a rise in people moving closer to the work place or back to thecenter city.

As a resident of New York City I am appalled at the traffic congestion I experience on a regular basis when I cross the Hudson River into New York.  I always have to listen to the radio to see which of the two tunnels*, the Holland or Lincoln has the least congestion.  It varies, but they could be as much as one hour to cross through!  I can’t take it!  There hasn’t been a new vehicular crossing built in over 75 years**.

So, why not build a new crossing to relieve congestion?   It is widely known that delays on the road contribute to billions of dollars in loss productivity each year.  Or maybe there is a reason to why no new crossing has been built.  Maybe the government wants people to stop driving into the city and cut down on pollution, but there hasn’t been a new train crossing in almost a century.  That is overly congested too and it doesn’t make sense.  A new crossing must be built to accommodate the new demand.

*There are a total of three crossings between New York City which includes the two tunnels aforementioned and the George Washington Bridge.

**A new lower level was added to the George Washington Bridge in 1962 to accommodate its increasing demand.  (http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/gwb-facts-info.html)

Traffic backup to go to New York City through the Holland Tunnel during rush hour. The Holland Tunnel sign is seen 1/2 mile ahead.

New transportation projects require two things to be successful and that is what supplies the transportation project and what demands it.  For example residents in a community agree to pay an additional tax to have a new train line service them.  The people’s taxes are the supply (or money) for the project as well as the people demand additional train service to their growing community.  This is obviously a simple example for a complex relationship.  Unfortunately politics is heavily integrated within any transportation project and sometimes we cannot retrieve both supply and demand.  For example, the Hudson River crossings between New York City and New Jersey are at over capacity.  There is a clear demand for additional crossings, but there is not supply driving such projects because it is almost political suicide.  No politician will ever support another crossing because no one wants to spend the money or take away land from citizens for the right of way.

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