Re:Jevons Paradox
by renewiltord on Friday November 03, 2023 @02:42PM
(#38133080)
The "induced demand" isn't a bad thing. It means more people are getting some utility out of them. The reason why folks bring up "induced demand" is when someone says that roadways should be expanded to reduce commute times. Commute times will often not be reduced: only that more people will be able to commute.
Usually the solution then is not to optimize for road transportation. After a threshold, it makes sense to switch to a more efficient use of land. Essentially, if you added two more lanes to 101, it's still going to take you as long to get to Palo Alto.
Roads are very good things. But they are very costly land-use-wise. So ideally you have lots of roads as a discovery mechanism and then place high-frequency fast transit along the most well-used. Most of America is in regulatory hell, though, so transit is slow and low-frequency, so the road may actually be net better.
Usually the solution then is not to optimize for road transportation. After a threshold, it makes sense to switch to a more efficient use of land. Essentially, if you added two more lanes to 101, it's still going to take you as long to get to Palo Alto.
Roads are very good things. But they are very costly land-use-wise. So ideally you have lots of roads as a discovery mechanism and then place high-frequency fast transit along the most well-used. Most of America is in regulatory hell, though, so transit is slow and low-frequency, so the road may actually be net better.