Effective Transportation Congestion Management

Abstract

Rapid urban growth and the increasing use of automobiles has led to significantly deteriorating air quality and traffic congestion. In its statement of national transportation policy, the United States Department of Transportation estimates that congested conditions account for 65 percent of all peak-hour travel on urban interstates, costing the economy over two billion hours annually. See United States Department of Transportation, Moving America: New Directions and New Opportunities, A Statement of National Transportation Policy 24 (1990). In addition to these economic costs, traffic congestion contributes to a substantial degradation in the public health, safety, and welfare, including the emission of air pollutants such as sulfur oxides (SOX), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC); energy consumption; neighborhood deterioration; and a general decline in the perceived “quality of life.”