The Traffic Modelling Reality Gap

Ex-Wellingtonian Nina Arron is a planner with a passion for Pedestrian Oriented Development who now lives in New Rochelle, New York. This means that she is in a great position to observe the gap between traffic modellers’ predictions and modern transport reality – the reality that traffic volumes are declining.

Photo by Patrick Morgan
Photo by Patrick Morgan

It seems that NZTA are not the only transport planners who are unable to see this reality. Nina has compiled a series of examples, from the US, Canada and Australia, of instances in which traffic planners’ faith in their outdated and inadequate models has led to costly transport failures.

You can read her article here: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1311/S00083/transportation-in-the-21st-century-the-modelingreality-gap.htm

NZTA – and the Government ministers behind the $12 billion “Roads of National Significance” scheme – are willing slaves to their models of endless traffic growth, unable to see the evidence of declining vehicle volumes that is in front of their eyes. That’s why it’s great to have someone like Nina to point it out to them.

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