Legum’s New Line

Transportation is a major problem in Maryland, particularly here in District 30. People spend a lot of time struck in traffic. We’ve been adding more lanes for years and things only get worse.

There is no silver bullet, but there are some fresh approaches to transportation that hold promise. One idea I’d put near the top of the list is called Complete Streets.

What is a Complete Street? Here is a definition from the National Coalition for Complete Streets:

Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.

Creating complete streets means transportation agencies must change their orientation toward building primarily for cars. Instituting a complete streets policy ensures that transportation agencies routinely design and operate the entire right of way to enable safe access for all users. Places with complete streets policies are making sure that their streets and roads work for drivers, transit users, pedestrians, and bicyclists, as well as for older people, children, and people with disabilities.

A complete street can mean different things in different places. In a city, a complete street may include a sidewalk, pedestrian crossings, a bike lane and a bus lane. In a rural area a complete street might simply have a well defined shoulder for biking and walking.

How can Complete Streets help tackle traffic congestion?

Designing streets only for automobiles reduces opportunities for safe travel choices that can ease traffic congestion: walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation. Americans drove almost three trillion miles in 2008, and many of those trips were very short. Half of all trips are three miles or less and 28% are one mile or less.

…Currently, short bicycling and walking trips account for 23 billion miles traveled annually. Shifting even a small portion of travelers out of single occupancy vehicles can have a big effect on congestion. In 2008, when national vehicle miles traveled (VMT) dropped by 3.6% , congestion plunged 30% in the nation’s 100 most congested areas.

Complete Streets can also reduce traffic accidents, improve air quality and help children get physical activity and gain independence.

In 2000, Maryland became one of a handful of states to adopt a Complete Streets policy. But there has not been adequate follow through. A 2009 study found Maryland “ranks 49th among the 50 states in per capita spending of federal transportation funds on bicycling and walking projects. The study puts Maryland’s per capita spending on such projects at 45 cents – compared with a national average of $1.46.”

We need to strengthen our policy and invest in Complete Streets throughout Maryland. (In Annapolis, Forrest Drive would be prime candidate.) Although state transpiration dollars are scarce, this is an area where federal grant money could be available.

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Maryland I-270, which runs from the Capital Beltway into Frederick County, is one of the most congested traffic corridors in the state. There is now a major push underway to spend about $4 billion to widen the road up to 12 lanes, which would be the most expensive transportation project in Maryland history.

To understand why this proposal would be counterproductive, just go back 10 years. From the January 4, 1999 Washington Post:

Congestion on Interstate 270 had grown so oppressive by the mid-1980s that Montgomery County transportation director Robert S. McGarry pressed the state to widen it six years ahead of schedule. Maryland responded with $200 million to widen more than a dozen miles, up to 12 lanes in some stretches.

But now, less than eight years after the project was finished, the highway has again been reduced to what one official called “a rolling parking lot.” Traffic on some segments already has exceeded the levels projected for 2010…

National transportation analysts say it’s no surprise: Widened highways generate their own traffic. This phenomenon, called “induced travel,” raises urgent questions for the Washington region at a time when area officials are planning to expand other highways and interchanges, such as the Capital Beltway, Interstate 66 and the Springfield interchange.

Although the exact magnitude of this effect is much debated, some studies suggest that induced travel might entirely overwhelm any relief from congestion resulting from new road capacity.

Motorists may decide to make more trips than before, convinced that the wider road will reduce congestion and make each trip quicker. They also may switch from other routes, expecting to save time. And they may abandon mass transit and climb into their cars – all of which put more vehicles on the widened highway.

Now, 10 years later and in the midst of severe budget shortfalls, we are ready to spend billions to make the same mistake again.

The proposal is more than an ineffective use of resources. It would have a seriously detrimental impact on Maryland’s environment, which is why it is opposed by a number of prominent environmental groups.

We need to break through old way of thinking about traffic congestion and look at how we can most effectively and efficiently use resources to ease traffic, including all forms of transit, ride sharing and telecommuting.

We’ll be following the issue closely on Legum’s New Line as the debate over I-270 continues.

[HT to Greater Greater Washington, which has the best and most comprehensive coverage of this topic.]

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