Congestion, Road Safety, and the Effectiveness of Public Policies in Urban Areas

Daniel Albalate,Xavier Fageda

doi:10.3390/su11185092

Daniel Albalate, Xavier Fageda

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185092

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Abstract

Congestion and road accidents are both considered essential challenges for sustainable mobility in large cities, but their relationship is only partially explored by the literature. In this paper, we empirically examine different public policies aimed at reducing urban traffic congestion but which may also have indirect effects on road accidents and casualties. We use data from 25 large urban areas in Spain for the period 2008–2017 and apply econometric methods to investigate how a variety of public policies do affect both negative externalities. Although the relationship between congestion and road safety is complex, we find that the promotion of certain modes of public transportation and the regulation of parking spaces may contribute to making cities more sustainable, both in terms of the time spent traveling and the probability of being affected by an accident. Considering whether policies addressing congestion improve or damage road safety as an indirect result is a useful approach for local policy-makers and planners in their attempt to get sustainable transportation outcomes.

Highlights

Cities are increasingly concerned about urban traffic congestion and its associated negative externalities
We examined different public transport policies aimed at reducing urban congestion but which may have indirect effects in terms of accidents and casualties
The relationship between congestion and safety is complex, we found evidence that the greater network length of different public transportation options and stricter parking regulations may contribute positively to reducing both types of negative externality

Summary

Introduction

Cities are increasingly concerned about urban traffic congestion and its associated negative externalities. Road congestion is considered an urgent and growing challenge for sustainable mobility, transport policy, and urban governance. In Europe, the costs attributable to congestion are estimated to be around 1% of annual gross domestic product (GDP) [1], and the problem tops the list of urban citizens’ concerns about transport quality [2]. The welfare impact of congestion was reported to be as high as 2% of national GDP in some countries [3], while the health costs of air pollution attributable to road transport were estimated at about $0.85 trillion per year [4]. Congestion is expected to worsen over time, with the growth in its associated costs becoming one of the main challenges urban planners and policy-makers will have to face in the near future. The introduction of connected and autonomous cars may make congestion more predictable, but the problem will persist and increase if technological advances, focused on car-centric innovations, increase the attractiveness of private mobility [6]

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