Americans are driving less. It’s a national trend, and though first noted around the time of the 2008 Great Recession, the economy is likely not the “driving” factor as it continues. Here in Glendale, driving delays associated with the downtown building boom have affected my local travel. I’ve decided to walk, park far away and then walk, or walk to take the Beeline then walk a bit more, to avoid driving in traffic.
Two recent studies show that growing numbers of Americans are going carless, while large numbers of Millennials are postponing car ownership and driving in general.
DC.Streetsblog reported on a U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) study pointing toward lower vehicle miles traveled than current U.S. government estimates:
That creates a disconnect between the kinds of transportation Americans are choosing with their feet and the kinds of transportation the system is designing for them.
Transit ridership is rising steadily – Americans took 10 percent more transit trips in 2011 than in 2005 – yet more than half of U.S. transit systems have been forced by budget constraints to either raise fares or cut service – or both – since the beginning of 2010. Meanwhile, although Americans are showing a flagging interest in automobile travel, states are breaking the bank to build shiny new roads.
AutoGuide.com reported on a CNW Marketing study, also released in May, that said the number of Americans without a car could approach ten percent this year:
a growing number of Americans feel they can go without a personal car . . .Though the U.S. new-car market is recovering, few expect it to reach the more than 17 million peak figure seen during past recoveries.
Some elected officials are determined to build or expand roads (reference Alhambra’s push to construct a 710 freeway extension – an idea that is opposed by Glendale and other northeast LA County cities). Others (reference officials and planners in San Francisco trying to eliminate a portion of the 280) are trying to find ways to decommission roads and reconnect neighborhoods.
Glendale is rimmed by freeways, threatened by a 710 extension, and anticipating thousands of new residents in the downtown area. A strategy for keeping car traffic manageable: provide more transportation options for new and existing residents who would prefer to skip driving whenever possible.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user squeaks2569.
This is critical in considering what affect (if any) proposed bike lanes would have on streets. More often than not we associate removal of travel lanes with ‘chaos’ and ‘gridlock’ but these trends suggest otherwise. As we build a more comprehensive bike network we will see a further decline. Thanks for sharing this data!