Induced Demand: The Myth of Widening Roads

WHY WIDENING ROADS NEVER SOLVES TRAFFIC “Traffic is bad… so we widen the road.

Seems logical, right?” “But here’s the problem— it almost never

works.” “When you widen a road, driving becomes faster and easier—at

first.” “Then more people start driving. Others switch from buses.

Trips increase. Peak hours get longer.” “This is called induced demand.” “The new lanes fill

up… and congestion comes back—sometimes worse than before.” “We’ve seen this

in cities all over the world— from Los Angeles to London to Dublin’s M50.”

“Roads can move cars. They can’t control how many people choose to drive.”