Pros And Cons Of Tollway Vs. Freeway

The town of Halton Hill’s population includes the areas of Georgetown and Acton and other communities such as Erin, Oakville, Burlington and Milton regions. This is what is considered to be my community because these are the many places that I am visiting most often and they are always referred to together as “Halton Hills Region” (p.5, 2011). With the substantial increase in population in the Halton Hills region, more specifically Georgetown, there should be a strong demand for a public transit system to counteract all of the environmental disturbances that are being caused due to this increase. One of the things that is happening is that there are so many trees they are cutting down in order to expand and grow the population with houses being built. Statistics are showing that the population of Halton Hill’s region will expand by 54% over the next 20 years (p.5, 2011). By the year 2031, employment rates will increase by 75%, leaving Halton with 42,100 jobs being offered (p.5, 2011). With this rapid influx of citizens, this will only increase the demands of travel to get to these work places as well as other destinations (p.5, 2011). Over the past couple of year’s the traffic congestion on the major roads in Halton Hills such as Trafalgar Road and Regional Road 25 with individuals trying to get to and from work. There used to be very little traffic in these areas, however since Halton Hill’s has continued to expand, the utilization of automobiles has significantly increased due to the fact there is no public transit system. The Transportation Demand Management in Halton Hill’s is noticing the increase in automobiles stating that there needs to be a major shift in more efficient ways of transportation, yet there still has been nothing improvised (p.7, 2011). The Transportation Demand

Richardson, Glaeser places certain focus on the importance of sanitation and the provision of clean water as fundamental components in reducing disease in cities. While this issue is highly relevant to the wellbeing of citizens in urban concentrations, Glaeser seems less concerned with it as most present-day cities have overcome these issues through provision of sufficient infrastructure. Of greater interest to the economically fixated Glaeser is the proposal and implementation of urban planning reforms aiming to reduce traffic congestion in metropolitan areas. He points out that congestion encumbers productivity in cities, and is adamant in his view that every driver should be charged for the external cost that their use of the road deposits on other drivers. From an economic perspective, it makes great sense to charge people for their bearing on congested roads to make up for lost time and productivity. Though the author fails to consider other solutions to the congestion problem, such as increasing public transport opportunities and investing in pedestrian and bicycle facilities, his favoured solution would still work well as part of a larger scheme to reduce traffic

While the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1956 created the U.S. Interstate system and brought a nation together, the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1973 would later create division in federal and state political parties over future funding concerns. In the short run, President Nixon considered this act as a positive step for transportation and the economy. However, in the long run, this act led to the eroding of HTF’s, leaving both state and federal government debating over how to proceed in funding a transportation infrastructure that is at present time slowly crumbling. Political differences between federal and state agencies have brought the modernization process of the transportation infrastructure to a snail’s pace. In addition, the lengthy

As stated in the question there is a blurry line between a public good and a private good. A public good is a good that is considered as being non rival and non excludable. When you consume a public good, it does not affect someone else’s consumption of the good. A private good is good that is both rival and excludable. This means that if you consume a private good, it may affect someone’s consumption of the product. I think we could make the argument that roadways are both a private and public good. Roadways are a public good in that there is no competition as to who builds and owns the roads. However, I do not think that roadways are totally non excludable. The more cars on the road means more traffic and more wear and tear on the roads. The more you drive on the roads, the more you affect others’ use of the roads. In this way, I think that roadways are more a private good. Not to mention that toll ways are making it more and more expensive for people to drive on the roads and therefore more exclusive. I know we normally assume that roadways are very public goods that are accessible to everyone. However, after looking at the economic definitions of a public good, I believe that roadways are almost more a private good than public; I affect other people driving on the road and so do the tolls that the other drivers and required to

In the early 1900s, the United States of America would see the introduction of a piece of technology that would change the way we as a society would look at travel. Henry Ford began production of Model T, the vehicle soon found its way into many American homes. By 1927, the Ford Motor Company had sold nearly 15 million of the mass produced, affordable car. The automobile was no longer a luxury but, a necessity for Americans. During the infancy of the automobile, the roads where nothing more than a mere rutted up path through the country side. Though shortly, people realized the need for better roads. The only problem was, who was going to pay the bill?

In order to create realistic solutions, it is essential to see how Californians have funded infrastructure projects in the past. Before California became the populous state it is today; not much infrastructure was built because the demand was not set in place. As more people moved to California as a result of the California Gold Rush, roads were cleared to make commutes easier. Property tax mostly funded these projects. It was not until the creation of the 1909 State Highway Act that significant infrastructure was established which included a 34-route 3,000-mile system. Although this highway act lead to a substantial creation of highway infrastructure, “initial estimates proved inadequate, and the state required additional highway bond measures

Comparing the financial cost of the interstate with the cost of having to reallocate funding or stopping programs in an effort to decrease traffic congestion will create a greater economic downturn if not done in moderation as well as a decrease in confidence in lawmakers. The lawmakers will feel the decrease in confidence by citizens during elections. Unless the local government can generate and use other sources of revenue to continue highway improvement, the decision to remove the city’s funding is not practical.

Highways made a vast contribution on the geographic landscape of America in a multitude of ways. In the past, roads throughout the United States have been neglected since the rise of railroads. The only existing roads that were located outside the cities were farm-to-market roads, which were unpaved, poorly marked. During this time, specifically during the 1910s, automobiles were highly expensive and only bought by the rich. As time continued, automobiles prices began to decrease, which resulted in an increase the amount of cars bought. With a larger quantity of the population owning cars, highways had to be reconstructed. The rebuilding of highways affected the United States because it resulted in society’s ability to travel vast distances

There has always been a demand for roads in the United States as roads are essential in the development of a nation. The national interstate highway system was America’s solution for the need of a road system that would stretch from coast to coast. The United States Interstate Highway System is a landmark project and often considered one of the greatest public works projects in American history by making travel by automobile faster, cheaper, safer and more convenient. New roads have been a necessity on our country ever since Henry Ford began to produce the automobile back in in 1903.

In Daniel Wood's article "Road Pricing Necessary, Contentious—and coming to Vancouver," he provides a glimpse into the possible uproar that will come of introducing road pricing to the city of Vancouver. The masses of people who commute by transit have to pay for it while drivers on the other hand, pay nothing to use the roads. Woods goes on to describe examples of how drivers get charged for using the roads in other parts of the world and how it helps to reduce congestion and encourage the use of public transit. Woods states that in Vancouver, the roads have been free since the beginning of time. Consequentially, the public does not really comprehend the concept of road pricing—let alone have any experience with it—and without the proper education,

In a survey of Houstonians, over 82% of those surveyed says that they would rather travel on a four lane street compared to a two lane street because they feel that it is faster (Vu). With more lanes on Old Foltin Road and Essie Road, drivers will have more opportunity to switch lanes if the lane that they are currently on is slow or an accident has occurred on the lane. This will reduce the time spent in traffic. By reducing the time spent in traffic, one is able to help reduce the congestion by being one less car on the streets. Additionally, on a multiple lane street, there is typically a fast lane (“When”). The fast lane, usually the farthest left lane, is designed for drivers who tend to drive faster than others around them. The fast lane enables traffic to flow smoother which in turn will deduce the amount of congestion. “The left lane is saved for those currently passing. It is a very simple, yet effective rule that helps drivers stay safe and minimizes traffic congestion” (“When”). With the reduction of traffic congestion due to the fast lanes, drivers are able to have more time on their hands to spend with their families. By using more lanes, Old Foltin Road and Essie Road will be able to reduce the disruption of vehicles entering and exiting Our Lady of

Since the beginning of the United States the American people have been on the move. Public transportation has played a major role in the development of this nation and in bringing its citizens together. In the book “Divided Highways”, author Tom Lewis takes the reader on a journey of the building of the Interstates and the consequences(good and bad) that came from them. Lewis believes that the Interstates are a physical characteristic of America and that it shows “all our glory and our meanness; all our vision and our shortsightedness”(xiv).

The regulation that will be discussed in this week’s assignment is the Federal-Aid to Highways Act of 1956 found in the e-book: American Transportation Policy. The reason that I have chosen to cover this topic is because this was the start of the development of the highway systems that we are familiar with today. The Federal Highway Act of 1956, in fact, was a bill that was very important with introducing a framework for highways and was done during the Eisenhower presidency.

Nothing that has occurred in the last several years in Texas has been quite as controversial as the new and increased usage of toll roads for new road construction. We have heard many statements that the toll roads are being built as a money-making system for the state (and the Department of Transportation). Statements have also been made to the effect that the state is "selling" the state, one length of roadway at a time; that the current roads could be maintained by the state, with current state funding levels. The main complaint is that the roads of Texas have always been free, and should continue to be free. But are these arguments correct?

Although he strives to remain neutral, his writing makes it seem as if he accepts the German’s ideas more so than the American’s ideas. Toward the end of the article, Budiansky explains that cars moving over a network of roadways have many mathematical features in common with the behavior of other things that flow over networks, such as data carried by telephone lines and the internet (Budiansky 317). The mathematics of networks is well studied, but math is not the only thing that computes to figuring out how to relieve our highways of traffic congestion. Many other factors come into play when looking for solutions to this problem, such as humans are not predictable and at any point in time something could go wrong while they are driving on the highway. All in all, Stephen Budiansky did an outstanding job as he was writing this passage for his audience. Through the use of imagery, metaphors and multiple analogies, he made the information understandable for those who were reading it. The Physics of Gridlock is a well written passage written by Stephen Budiansky that explains the troubles that we face with traffic