Too Many Roads
5 hours ago
- The US has a similar road mileage per capita to Ireland, but maintenance suffers due to the sheer number of roads.
- Road density varies significantly across US cities: Los Angeles has less road per resident than New York or Kansas City, but its roads carry much more traffic per mile.
- Density spreads road upkeep costs over a larger tax base, but heavy traffic wears roads out faster, while asphalt also ages from sun and water regardless of use.
- More roads tend to increase driving, as seen in Atlanta versus Los Angeles.
- Shrinking cities like Pittsburgh face high per-capita road costs as population declines but road infrastructure remains.
- Existing residents often block new apartments (Homevoter Hypothesis), preventing density increases that could share road costs.
- The full cost of driving, including crashes, is estimated at $2.15 trillion annually in the US, and not fully paid by drivers.