Benjamin Schneider
September 6, 2018
CityLab
When traffic-clogged highways are expanded, new drivers quickly materialize to fill them. What gives? Here’s how “induced demand” works.
Tag Archives: Traffic congestion
Caltrans ready to expand Yolo Causeway, seeks public’s input
By Max Resnick
June 06, 2018
The Sacramento Bee
Caltrans will begin the process of seeking public input on a proposal to improve traffic congestion on Interstate 80 between Solano and Sacramento counties.
The state’s transportation department wants to extend an existing carpool lane at the edge of Solano County through Yolo County and into Sacramento County
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The Environmental Council of Sacramento, a nonprofit whose mission, according to its website, is “to achieve regional and community sustainability and a healthy environment for existing and future residents,” opposes the idea.
The council believes it will actually worsen the traffic situation along the stretch of highway.
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“I like the idea of the bike path,” said Diane Swann, member of Bike Davis. “I don’t care about another HOV lane. I think that you widen the road, you get more cars.”
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Among the topics that could be discussed is whether to turn the lane into a toll lane.
Click here to read the full article.
To learn more about some of the problems caused by widening freeways, please read about our recent lawsuit against Caltrans for their plans to widen Highway 50 with High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes by clicking here.
Suit filed to block step toward annexation of land by Elk Grove
June 5, 2018
By Ben van der Meer
The Sacramento Business Journal
A coalition of environmental groups has filed suit to block a step that the city of Elk Grove must take before it can annex more than 1,100 acres to the south.
The plaintiffs, led by the Environmental Council of Sacramento, filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court alleging that an environmental impact report for the move doesn’t adequately address impacts on water, loss of farmland and at-risk species such as the sandhill crane and Swainson’s hawk.
The suit also claims that the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission went against its stated policies to discourage sprawl when it approved a sphere-of-influence amendment for Elk Grove earlier this year.
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