MTR 78, Traffic Myths

Mobilizing the Region
Issue 78 May 10, 1996

Traffic Myths

A mailing to the members of Concerned Citizens for 25A, a Cold Spring Harbor group fighting New York State DOT's plan to widen an arterial roadway through the town, contained a summary reprint of the "Eight Myths of Traditional Traffic Planning" from the book Traffic Calming: The Solution to Urban Traffic and a New Vision for Neighborhood Liveability. According to the book, the eight myths are:
1. Traffic projections are important in deciding what roads are needed.
2. Planners are not responsible for how much people want to use their cars.
3. Predicted traffic growth must be provided for.
4. Bigger roads are safer roads.
5. Bigger roads increase people's mobility.
6. Bigger roads advantage more people than they disadvantage.
7. It is not the job of traffic planners to look at wider social, political and environmental trends.

8. Planning should be left to the experts.

Concerned Citizens for 25A has placed the book in the Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington libraries. Traffic Calming is also available from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign for $5 (call 212-777-8181). Concerned Citizens for 25A: PO Box 86, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724.