When planning major infrastructure investments, it’s important to know which road, freight and information networks are most important – and which proposals might make things worse, not better.
Traffic wastes time, creates pollution and costs money. But can it also affect us psychologically? A new study suggests that unexpected traffic can increase the incidence of domestic violence.
Whom should I save?
Illustration via shutterstock.com
Driverless cars are the future, right? Wait. While things would be simple if our roads were 100% driverless, getting there is anything but. And planning for roads shared by robots and humans is hard.
Projects like Sydney’s WestConnex and Melbourne’s Western Distributor don’t account for real world evidence of driver behaviour in estimating travel time savings.
No wonder you’re always late. Drivers use a route that minimizes travel time on only a third of their trips. Here’s how real-world data can help planners fight traffic congestion.
Outdoor air pollution causes 3.3 million premature deaths a year, mainly in Asia. And without policies to cut particulate pollution from traffic, industry and home biofuels, the deaths could double by 2050.
Congested roads and overcrowded public transport services are common problems in many of our cities.
Dam Himbeechts/AAP
Australia's transport infrastructure needs urgent upgrades. But with governments willing to fund only one or two major projects, how do we decide which infrastructure project to prioritise?
While there may be bad congestion in parts of Australia’s cities now, data suggest that car use has peaked.
Scott Davies/Flickr
There is a new fear on the block … traffic congestion. But do we have to accept that congestion trends will overwhelm us? Is it really right to fear congestion?
Tunnel vision: the claim that more roads equals less congestion fails to see the wider picture.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
A new road may provide motorists with some level of respite from congestion in the short term. But almost all of the benefit from the road will be lost in the longer term.