Gridlock

This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

While searching for something else, I came across this fascinating 20-year-old piece from the NYT Magazine on traffic and congestion. Lots of great quotes, like this:

The frustration and anxiety, the irrational and antisocial behavior of trapped motorists have turned cities and freeway systems into war zones. Older cities are watching their roadways and bridges shut down. Newer cities are seeing uncontrolled development at rates that leave behind any conceivable program of road building. And in any case, the time for highway construction is past.

Past, eh? Tell that to Dino Rossi. This is also fun:

Some experiments with ”high-occupancy vehicle lanes” have successfully encouraged car pooling, but others have been killed by local protest groups. On the whole, riders prefer more than ever to be alone in their cars. Average occupancy has fallen to less than one and one-sixth persons a car.

Cue the mayor from Singles: “people like their cars.” Not much changes.