Reason Foundation

Recent Research and Commentary

China Mobility Project

An overview of Reason Foundation's China Mobility Project

October 26, 2009

As part of the Galvin Project to End Congestion, Reason Foundation is engaged in a multiyear study of the impacts of traffic congestion on urban mobility and economic competitiveness and developing practical market-oriented solutions for policymakers.

A crucial component of this program is the investigation of private sector participation and involvement in providing, financing, managing, and operating transportation infrastructure. As part of our examination, Reason is actively researching transportation initiatives abroad through its China Mobility Project.

The China Mobility Project research team includes Reason Foundation Vice President Dr. Adrian Moore, Reason urban policy expert Dr. Samuel Staley, and transportation engineer Dr. Zongzhi Li.

World Car Free Day Tomorrow---Buy Your Bread and Milk Now

September 21, 2009, 10:54am

Shirley Ybarra

World Car Free Day is anti mobility

Daniel Burnham: Congestion is a Menace

September 8, 2009, 11:50am

Samuel Staley

In the Plan of Chicago, the watershed planning document that has shaped much of current day professional planning, the principal authors condemned traffic congestion and presented a bold road building strategy to tame it.

Smart Growth, Traffic Congestion Reduce Growth

September 3, 2009, 2:25am

Samuel Staley

The newsmedia is increasingly taking note of the detrimental impact of traffic congestion on economic growth and the potential harmful effects of Smart Growth.

Gridlock and Growth: The Effect of Traffic Congestion on Regional Economic Performance

How reducing traffic congestion can add billions of dollars in economic growth to local economies
Policy Study 371

August 27, 2009

David T. Hartgen, M. Gregory Fields

Traffic congestion increases costs to American businesses, workers and families. It increasingly takes more time and fuel to get where we want to go, costing us time and money. As traffic congestion worsens, it will significantly undermine the economic competitiveness of U.S. cities and regions.

Perhaps one reason policymakers have not done more to reduce gridlock is a lack of understanding about how congestion negatively impacts our cities and their competitiveness. What would be the benefits of achieving free-flow travel conditions on a regional scale?

This study examines the economics of congestion relief. The report, authored by David Hartgen and Gregory Fields, finds that reducing congestion can add billions of dollars in productivity and economic output for cities. Free-flowing traffic increases regional productivity, which also increases tax revenues for local governments.

Most major cities will find that wise infrastructure investments that eliminate gridlock and produce free-flowing road conditions will more than pay for themselves by boosting the region’s economy, and thus tax revenues. The study shows that reducing congestion and increasing travel speeds enough to improve access by 10 percent to key employment, retail, education and population centers increases regional production of goods and services by 1 percent. While seemingly small in percentage terms, this leads to tens of billions of dollars for a region’s employers and workers due to productivity and efficiency benefits.

Toll Roads and Public-Private Partnerships in Texas

Past debacles and what the future holds

July 29, 2009

Robert Poole

The same huge highway funding shortfall that still faces Texas exists just about every place else, especially in fast-growing states like Arizona, California, Georgia, and Virginia. This spring both Arizona and California enacted sweeping new enabling legislation for public-private partnership toll roads (as did Puerto Rico). Both Arizona and California were early pioneers in this area but suffered backlashes that led to no projects getting authorized in the former and only two in California (and the later repeal of its pilot program legislation). And given the interest and need for funding of large new projects in Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania, I expect PPP toll road legislation to be enacted soon in at least two of the three. And progress continues on large-scale concession projects in Florida and Virginia.

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