Traffic jams a nationwide headache

Last year, Americans burned 2.3 billion gallons of fuel going — nowhere. The 2005 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute estimates that American motorists spent $63 billion while cooling their heels on congested freeways. The institute also calculated the numbers of hours spent in traffic gridlock. Los Angeles, Long Beach and Orange counties topped the list at 93 hours each in 2003, while Salt Lakers wasted 31 hours in traffic.

Nationwide, Utah ranked 40th for total hours of traffic congestion delays, which is a statistic that can be interpreted in a number of ways. Salt Lake City is among the top 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, so it's a given that motorists will experience delays during their commutes. But commuting times in the Salt Lake Valley are a cakewalk compared to large coastal cities where two-hour commutes are commonplace.

Still, Utah needs to take steps to improve traffic flows, road utilization and transit options such as expanding light rail, establishing commuter rail and express bus service.

One of the most significant traffic bottlenecks in Utah is I-15 through Davis County. The Legacy Highway project, beset by legal challenges, needs to move ahead as a means to ease traffic congestion and to enhance public safety.

Another option under consideration by the Utah Department of Transportation is HOV lanes that double as toll roads for solo drivers willing to pay a fee. Carpoolers would be able to use the lanes at no extra charge, which Utah officials believe would help encourage ride sharing.

Credit UDOT for its use of other strategies to curb congestion, such as ramp meters, traffic signals that regulate the flow of motorists entering the freeway during peak hours.

The success of TRAX speaks for itself. Utahns are hungry for expansion of light rail, which would go a long way to take more drivers off the road. TRAX needs to be supplemented with more express buses as well as commuter rail, which would siphon off commuters who now drive into Salt Lake County from Weber and Davis counties.

To some degree, traffic congestion is an inevitability between a growing population and Westerners' love affair with their cars. But careful planning can help to ensure that Utah gets the most of its road-building dollar and that mass transit options multiply in concert with the population rate.