Urban Traffic Report Sparks Clever Headlines, But Little Transit Talk

(Photo: TTI Urban Mobility Report)

The latest edition of the Texas Transportation Institute's influential urban mobility report
was released today, prompting a flurry of mainstream media coverage
focused largely on a faux-ironic theme that would do Alanis Morrissette
proud -- the bad economy is giving us less traffic!

The TTI found a one-hour drop in the annual traffic delays
suffered by the average urban American in 2007, a result attributed to
the run-up in fuel prices and the beginning of the economic slowdown.
The Wall Street Journal deemed the one-hour reprieve "The Upside of Recession," while LA Weekly dubbed Southern California's congestion decrease a "Recession Bonus."

Other
coverage of the TTI report emphasized a different breed of cold
comfort, playing up the congestion rankings that were given to major
cities. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
resorted to surveying drivers on their local roads' drop from
second-worst to third-worst in the nation (surprisingly, no one was
celebrating), while D.C.-area outlets seemed to take morbid pride in their ascension to the No. 2 spot.

If
only the TTI report had a solution to urban traffic woes that had a
measurable impact on congestion! Oh, wait. As the chart above shows,
transit service saved the nation's cities 645 million hours of delay in
2007. That's more than double the number of hours saved by all five
most prominent road "operational improvements" combined -- with HOV
lanes being the most notable of those latter options.

The
report's authors devote an entire section to solutions to congestion,
recommending "a balanced and diversified approach" tailored to the
needs of each area. Promoting "denser developments with a mix of jobs,
shops and homes, so that more people can walk, bike or take transit" is
featured on the list.

But unfortunately, the value of
transit and denser urban development got only sporadic mention in most
coverage of the TTI report. The Oregonian was one of the exceptions;
its reporter drew a line between Portland's less grim traffic situation
and its planning priorities. Here's an excerpt:

The more urban media digs into not just their rank in the congestion tables, but the reasons why their city is stuck, the better.