Are We There Yet?

by Aon Hussain Earlier this year, the Texas Transportation Institute measured traffic congestion across America. Their results found that Chicago has the most debilitating amount of traffic congestion in the entire country. The problem isn’t just local. In total, congestion cost the entire country almost $115 billion, forced travelers to sit behind the wheel 4.8 billion hours...

by Aon Hussain

Earlier this year, the Texas Transportation Institute measured traffic congestion across America. Their results found that Chicago has the most debilitating amount of traffic congestion in the entire country.

The problem isn’t just local. In total, congestion cost the entire country almost $115 billion, forced travelers to sit behind the wheel 4.8 billion hours more than necessary, and pushed commuters to buy an extra 3.9 billion gallons of fuel.

The worst part about this study is that Chicago projects to spend billions of dollars more in transportation upgrades over the course of future years, yet congestion will only get worse. In a city that continues to struggle economically, the impact of this congestion will only strain economic growth. Too much congestion lessens options for job seekers, negatively impacts commerce, and forces citizens to leave.

The following video was produced by Reason.org to highlight congestion in the Chicago area.

Fortunately, these problems can be fixed. As Ted Balaker and Paul Detrick write for Reason, many possibilities exist to alleviate these problems. They include:

• the expansion of roads with underground tunnels and elevated structures.
• the use of pricing to keep traffic flowing.
• private-sector financing instead of taxes to pay for new projects.

All these options reduce the amount of congestion for Chicago. They also do it by both reducing costs for the city and promoting economic growth.