Nation's Traffic Problems Getting Worse
WASHINGTON - The nation's traffic problems are getting worse faster than they can be fixed even in small cities like Brownsville, Texas, and Pensacola, Fla.
And in the 85 biggest U.S. cities, snarled traffic is costing travelers 3.5 billion hours a year, up from 700 million two decades ago, according to the Texas Transportation Institute's annual Urban Mobility Report released Tuesday.
Also, a solution to ever-growing traffic jams isn't likely to come soon, transit and highway advocates say.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials estimates it would take federal spending as great as $400 billion over the next six years to solve traffic problems, according to a 2002 study.
"We just aren't keeping pace," said John Horsley, AASHTO's executive director. "Our capacity improvements — new highways or transit — are growing at 10 percent the rate needed."
Congress, though, is likely to approve billions less than what highway and transit advocates say is required.
The House has agreed to $299 billion over the next six years. The Senate approved $318 billion, but Senate sponsors say President Bush probably will approve a more recent proposal of $301 billion.
While lawmakers wrangle, federal spending remains stuck at the rate it has been for the past six years — $218 billion.
