Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Do Shiny New Roads “Only Make Idiots More Dangerous”?

We hear the arguments again and again from DOTs: they need to widen
highways and expand interchanges to improve safety on the nation's
roads.

Streetsblog Network member The Political Environment, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sees it differently: 

3371733664_98b68c311e_m.jpgPhoto of the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee by TracyJ_Brown via Flickr.

[M]ost
fatalities on the road are caused by speed, alcohol or other factors
tied to driver inattentiveness or indifference, and spiffy new lanes
and perfect pavement only makes these menaces more dangerous.

Twice in the last two weeks -- once on Madison's beltline
heading west and once in the gaudy new Marquette Interchange -- I was
nearly sideswiped by motorists on my right who changed lanes without
looking... I find the new Marquette more hazardous for motorists who
want to exit westbound at 26th or 35 St. as they have to move quickly
to the right into traffic coming from behind coming downhill from high
ramps feeding in from the Hoan Bridge or I-43 south.
The new Marquette induces speeding -- smooth pavement, gravity, the
perception that the whole machine's alleged efficiencies are there to
make your trip faster have created a Death Valley in the interchange
just past the Marquette University campus.

It's the stupidity factor that kills people on the
highways, and I am convinced that WisDOT's rebuilding and redesigning
schemes only make idiots more dangerous.

A recent article in Popular Mechanics came to a similar conclusion.

More from around the network: WashCycle writes about the advantages of lefty bike lanes; Cap'n Transit wonders what to do about transit labor costs; and the National Journal wonders whether reducing vehicle miles traveled should be a national transportation goal.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

July 2024 Metro Board Meeting: Ridership Up, Security Measures, LAX, and More

LAX station will open this November. Metro will expand security measures, from TAP-to-Exit to turnstile hardening. Plus more Metro action!

July 25, 2024

Covina to Begin Construction on Recreation Village

The new facility will be next to the Metrolink station and include a variety of opportunities for fitness and amusement

July 25, 2024

Incomplete Streets Part 2: in OC Caltrans Ignores Caltrans Policy on Bike and Pedestrian Needs

Caltrans has a policy requiring Complete Streets in its projects, but Caltrans Districts routinely ignore it

July 24, 2024
See all posts