Traffic and congestion in American cities have been getting worse for decades.
The average US driver could lose 51 hours and $869 in valuable time sitting in traffic in 2022, up 54% from last year.According to a report by global traffic tracker INRIX.
In 2019, before the pandemic, traffic snarls cost the average American nearly 100 hours and about $1,400.
During the worst of the pandemic, highway traffic eased in 2020 and 2021, but is now back. What’s more, the post-Covid world may present new challenges such as increased traffic in the suburbs along with the changing driving patterns of hybrid workers.
Opinion is divided across the country on what to do about it. Some experts say that cities need more of everything: wider roads, more public transportation, and better urban design and planning. Widening roads alone is a commonly proposed solution, but experts say it is only part of the solution.
For example, some economists argue that congestion pricing is the only way to reduce traffic. But that route is politically controversial.
Although experts say it has been successfully implemented in cities such as London and Singapore, it has faced some resistance in US population centers such as New York City.
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