Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
Right, Toronto has Texas-level growth trends, and no new freeways.
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I hate to bring Toronto into new threads - I think this happens too much already - but this is not true. The Greater Toronto area has built about 60+ miles of net new highways in the last 15 years, although most of this was toll roads. It's also significantly widening many stretches of existing highways, including about 15 miles of the 401 to extend the express/collector system further west.
One thing I've observed is that in much of the world outside of the US, transit expansion often goes hand-in-hand with highway expansion. While Madrid built hundreds of kilometers of new metro lines, it also built hundreds of kilometers of new autopistas. Same with Chinese cities. Ever seen the freeway network of cycling-friendly, transit-friendly Holland? Somehow, despite the massive highway expansions in Spain, Spanish cities are still probably the most vibrant and urban experiences in the developed world, because land use planning matters more than new transportation links in determining how a city grows and feels.