Moving People: Traffic Congestion, Road Building, and Sustainable Transportation Solutions in Urban Areas

Moving People: Traffic Congestion, Road Building, and Sustainable Transportation Solutions in Urban Areas by

Eloisa de Carvalho Tigre Raynault

A Major Paper submitted to the faculty of the 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University  in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Natural Resources

Major: Natural Resources

David L. Trauger, Chair

Gary R. Evans

David P. Robertson

28 April 2006

Alexandria, Virginia

Keywords: transportation, sustainability, road building, congestion

Copyright 2006, Eloisa de Carvalho Tigre Raynault

Moving People: Traffic Congestion, Road Building, and Sustainable Transportation Solutions in

Urban Areas

Eloisa de Carvalho Tigre Raynault

Abstract

There is a longstanding notion among road-building advocates that constructing more roads alleviates congestion.  Because environmental and other impacts are introduced by road building and traffic congestion, it is essential to address sustainability in the field of transportation on local, regional, and global levels.  A shift from road building as a singular solution to a framework of better, long term solutions is needed.  This paper addresses the questions of whether sustainable solutions to traffic congestion exist and, if so, how they can be applied.  This paper reviews past approaches to urban transportation, researches the present outcomes of those approaches, and studies alternate strategies to urban transportation.  Selected metropolitan areas are assessed to obtain lessons learned on sustainable transportation.  The paper also notes current sustainable transportation strategies available for implementation on broad levels; improving public transportation and transport options, using innovative land use strategies, reducing private vehicle use and vehicle emissions, increasing taxation, researching  new technologies, and integrating these and other approaches are some mitigating strategies that can help regions move away from unsustainable road building and subsequent congestion.  The result of this research is a proposed sustainable urban transportation framework and an example pilot project that may be useful to transportation agencies in both developed and developing nations.  While one sustainable transportation solution set may not be transferable to diverse cities across the globe, it is possible to use a framework that can be applied, wholly or in part, across large regions.

Dedication

I would like to thank my family, especially Clovis, Heloisa, and Marcos Tigre and Mark

Raynault, for providing me with encouragement and inspiration.

Acknowledgements

Certain people deserve credit for their major contributions to this paper. Drs. David Trauger and Gary Evans were insightful guides over the course of this effort.  Dr. David Robertson provided a steady stream of important resources, astute evaluations, and valuable guidance. I am deeply grateful to have worked with each professor.

Table of Contents

Abstract............................................................................................................................ ii

Dedication....................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgements......................................................................................................... iv

Table of Contents............................................................................................................. v

Lists of Multimedia Objects............................................................................................ vi

1. Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1

2. Sustainability in Transportation................................................................................... 4

2.1 Definitions.............................................................................................................. 4

2.2. Road Building as a Response to Congestion......................................................... 6

3. Findings...................................................................................................................... 10

3.1 Past Practices: Washington, District of Columbia............................................... 10

3.2 Present Outcomes: Environmental and Social Implications................................ 13

3.3 Alternate Strategies: Curitiba and Amsterdam Examples.................................... 23

3.4 Discussion............................................................................................................ 30

4. Recommendations...................................................................................................... 36

5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 44