In the 1980s-90s, GDOT widened Atlanta’s Downtown Connector from 6 through-lanes to 12, then ultimately to 14. It more than doubled in size, and yet it’s still congested and people are still frustrated, feeling like they're trapped in cars, and trapped in a hopeless situation.
Why? Because "how do we fix car congestion" was the wrong question. Car congestion should never have been the prime target. Instead, we need to fix the car-dependent sprawl that got us here. And that 'fix' has got to encompass goals that stretch beyond just building new train lines.
While the expansion of rapid transit absolutely plays an important role in addressing transportation issues, transit investments won't truly succeed unless we build places around them at more a pedestrian-friendly scale.
The best transportation plan is a good land-use plan!
Look, economically vibrant cities will be crowded. It's inevitable. That's why spreading daily crowds throughout a mixture of sidewalks, bike lanes, buses, train platforms, and cars is important -- that diversity of options is key.
We certainly can't widen the Downtown Connnector any more. Instead of widening roads, it's time to shrink our urban sprawl and commit to building our places around alternatives to driving.
And when we put affordability initiatives upfront in the planning process, we’ll avoid saddling lower income people with car dependency, which too often happens due to housing costs and business leases being lower on the car-centric fringes.
