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Increases in supply do not always cause the same effect. An example is multi-lane highway expansion projects. This often leads to more traffic problems, not l
by jonbarker 10y ago
Increases in supply do not always cause the same effect. An example is multi-lane highway expansion projects. This often leads to more traffic problems, not less.
- thwarted 10y agoThis isn't that great of a comparison because a highway lanes are not the good that is in demand, the travel destinations are. More lanes doesn't translate into more demand for the destinations, but it does potentially reveal the actual demand for the destinations, which may have been artificially limited (or difficult to measure) when there were fewer lanes because of a lack of usable routes/bandwidth.
- jonbarker 10y agoMore lanes creates the perception that it is easier to drive than take other modes of transportation, so more people set up their lives around car ownership, taking cars everywhere, etc.
- thwarted 10y agoCreates that perception right up until the point where they're sitting in traffic. Are you talking about building a new multilane highway where one didn't exist, or expanding the number of lanes on a highway that already exists? I thought you were referring to the latter, since that's the case that is closest to a increased housing in an established city==building lanes analogy, in as much as it is close at all as I previously described.
- jonbarker 10y agoI agree with you that there may be some revelation of pent up demand for destinations, but also believe that that effect is overshadowed by the overall effect of creating a "car town" vs a "public transit town". There is an overall culture shift when one demonstrates that the highway is "open for business". The lagging effect is ridiculous traffic jams.