CONGESTION CONTROL AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Road traffic congestion is a significant, and growing, problem in many parts of the world. Moreover, as congestion continues to increase, the conventional approach of building more roads does not always work for a variety of political, financial, and environmental reasons. In fact, building new roads can actually compound congestion, in some cases, by inducing greater demands for vehicle travel. In 1992, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) established an expert panel to study and report on the worldwide state of the practice for traffic congestion control and demand management. This article summarizes the study group's work and findings. The group found that comprehensive programs involving both demand-side and supply-side measures produce the most successful results. Some examples of comprehensive approaches investigated are the Congestion Management System Regulations in the United States, the London Red Routes Program in the United Kingdom, the Structure Plan in the Netherlands, and the Olympics Traffic Management Program in Barcelona, Spain. For a variety of reasons, however, such comprehensive approaches are more the exception than the rule.

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