Did you know . . .

• Between 1980 and 2000, highway travel in the U.S. increased 80 percent and the number of drivers increased by 30 percent, while highway mileage increased only 2 percent. At the same time, 84 percent of the nation's $7 trillion in freight traffic travels on highways, with truck travel expected to grow by more than 3 percent annually over the next 20 years. Federal Highway Administration, 2000

• More people are driving more cars more miles on more trips. In 1970, Americans traveled 1 trillion miles in motor vehicles. The number of miles driven by Americans has risen 150% since 1970. Surface Transportation Policy Project, 2002

• In 2000, Americans drove 128 million cars, traveling 2.3 trillion miles. They consumed 8.2 million barrels of fuel per day and emitted 302 million tons of carbon. Worldwatch Institute, 2000

• The typical American family has more vehicles in the garage than licensed drivers in the house. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2003

• The US Department of Transportation reports that, more than 50 percent of the total increase in driving in the US from 1983 to 1990 was due to factors related directly to sprawl - more and longer trips taken by the same people. Increases in population over that period account for only 13 percent of the total increase in driving. John Horsley, Bureau of Transportation Statistics

• Motor vehicles are the largest source of urban air pollution, generating more than two-thirds of the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, a third of the nitrogen oxides (which react to form smog), and a quarter of the hydrocarbons (which also form smog). Surface Transportation Policy Project, 2000

• Vehicles might use less gas, but the gas has become more polluting. As lead was phased out, refineries have made up for the loss in octane with changes in the gasoline formula that make auto fuel more likely to release smog-forming VOCs into the air. Environmental Protection Agency, Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act

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• Citizen Satisfaction Survey
  • In Survey, Services Get High Marks But Residents Unhappy With Growth, Roads, Washington Post, August 10 2003
• How to Calculate Traffic Impacts for New Development Proposals
• How Slow Do You Go?

Virginia Links

• Did You Know?
• Commuting in Northern Virginia [census info breakdown for commuter flow]
• Northern Virginia Transportation Authority
• Virginia Dept. of Transportation Projects & Studies

Regional Information

• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
  • Transportation Planning
  • A Citizens Guide To Transportation Decision-Making in the Washington Metropolitan Region
• The Need for Regional Anti-Congestion Policies, Anthony Downs, Brookings Institute; February 2004
• Testimony on Peak Hour Traffic Congestion Anthony Downs, Brookings Institute; March 19, 2002
• Surface Transportation Policy Project
  • Why Are the Roads So Congested?
  • Transportation and the Environment
  • Measuring Up: The Trend Toward Voter Approved Transportation Funding

Air Pollution

• Criteria Air Pollutant Report: Prince William County; Environmental Defense Scorecard
• 2004 State of the Air Report: Virginia; American Lung Association
• 2008 State of the Air Report: Virginia; American Lung Association
• Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act; EPA

More Information

• Energy and Smart Growth: It's about How and Where We Build; Funders Network for Smart Growth and Liveable Communities
• Smart Growth Online - Transportation
• Transit-Oriented Development; American Public Transportation Association
• Ten Principles for Successful Transit Oriented Development; Urban Land Institute