Why do people want to work and live in Austin if it is already overcrowded, expensive to live there ? (Paris: condos, buying)

[TexasHorseLady]

What 130 does for "local" traffic is provide an alternative (at a cost, granted) for those who work downtown or on the east or south side of Austin and who live in Manor, Hutto, and other such communities to get there without driving in to I35 and then down. I've had clients who moved here from places where toll roads are a fact of life who did that, preferring to live further out or finding it more affordable, or they could have larger yards for children, pets, or gardening. So it does serve a purpose to alleviate some local traffic, but, again, at a cost to those who use it, making it less desirable for that purpose and thus less likely to make a major impact.

[jb9152]

Originally Posted by ctk0p7

That may effect projects within Austin, but would not stop the state from building needed roads around the city itself, like an I-35 bypass to the east of the city that would have kept I-35 in town from being the mess it is today.

Probably wouldn't have made a huge difference, since 86% of the traffic going through Austin originates in Austin itself or the surrounding counties. Most drivers aren't going through; their origin and destination place them on I-35 through Austin every day.

[gpurcell]

Have none of you ever lived in a city with a proper ring road? One of the points of a ring is to allow local traffic to skirt the city center! The REASON local traffic gets funneled through I-35 downtown is because there isn't another way to get around the periphery.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

Have none of you ever lived in a city with a proper ring road? One of the points of a ring is to allow local traffic to skirt the city center! The REASON local traffic gets funneled through I-35 downtown is because there isn't another way to get around the periphery.

Here's a list of some of the cities with ring roads in USA:

Houston
Atlanta
San Antonio
Jacksonville
Phoenix

Any of them solved traffic woes? Nope
Actually, it's a pretty close list of the spawl-iest cities in America. Nightmare.

Thanks, but no thanks.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by jb9152

Probably wouldn't have made a huge difference, since 86% of the traffic going through Austin originates in Austin itself or the surrounding counties. Most drivers aren't going through; their origin and destination place them on I-35 through Austin every day.

This is exactly right! I-35 in Austin is essentially a local road, pass through traffic is a small fraction of its volume. Make every car and truck disappear tomorrow -- and a real life version has already been tried, several million of dollars spent to reduce truck tolls on 130 to equal that of cars -- and little will change. It did have an impact on 130, more trucks used it. But it had zero impact on I35 congestion!

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Here's a list of some of the cities with ring roads in USA:

Houston
Atlanta
San Antonio
Jacksonville
Phoenix

Any of them solved traffic woes? Nope
Actually, it's a pretty close list of the spawl-iest cities in America. Nightmare.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Washington, Chicago, Amsterdam, London and Paris have ring roads, and I don't see them on your list. But none of the cities you listed are in the INRIX top ten for congestion - as Austin is. Maybe ring roads do work.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by scm53

Paris has a ring road, and I don't see it on your list.

OMG! Paris' ring road is an utter disaster! It has basically destroyed the city and turned it into a fortress! It completely reinforces K's point! Talk about suburban sprawl and congestion and social exclusion!


A Transit Expansion Designed to Force Paris to Make Peace With Its Suburbs - Feargus O'Sullivan - The Atlantic Cities

[gpurcell]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Here's a list of some of the cities with ring roads in USA:

Houston
Atlanta
San Antonio
Jacksonville
Phoenix

Any of them solved traffic woes? Nope
Actually, it's a pretty close list of the spawl-iest cities in America. Nightmare.

Thanks, but no thanks.

It's a heck of a lot easier to get from one place to another in all of those cities and the traffic in all of them is a lot better than Austin. I grew up in a city with a ring road--Kansas City--and you can get anywhere in the metro area in basically a half an hour because of them.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by scm53

Washington, Chicago, Amsterdam, London and Paris have ring roads, and I don't see them on your list. But none of the cities you listed are in the INRIX top ten for congestion - as Austin is. Maybe ring roads do work.

Didn't realize that Amsterdam, London and Paris were in the US.

Also - Washington beltway is a disaster - so, thanks for that example as well.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

A Transit Expansion Designed to Force Paris to Make Peace With Its Suburbs - Feargus O'Sullivan - The Atlantic Cities

The suburbanites who live beyond (usually in conditions far more metropolitan than any American suburb) are often regarded as a separate breed, with problems that are exotic and possibly even threatening to the “real” city itself.

Sure am glad no one in central Austin has that "real city" kind of attitude.