Stuck in Traffic

Stuck at an intersection along a major thoroughofare that's been under construction for the past three years, I asked myself why I ever thought this might be a good afternoon to do some holiday shopping. High above my car loomed the beginnings of a foundation for the future:  Concrete and steel rods were dangling from giant cranes. I'd read this highway project had exceeded cost estimates, far more than first imagined. Massive piers were waiting to support an overhead flyway for non-local traffic. Underneath, an almost completed rail system would link city trains to suburban outposts. With the help of software and surveyors the tunnels and stations were lining up.

Above and below ground engineers spent years mapping out solutions to anticipated and complicated traffic problems. Sensitive electronics will refine the work regulating subtle shifts in vehicle flow. Drivers chattering on cellphones probably aren't focusing on the massive construction which will block a little more Vitamin D, prevent the addition of shade trees and add to the public debt. We realize we are part of the problem and know that increased population density invites negative consequences. It's depressing to think that this is our best effort. On the faces of drivers around me all I see is active resentment. Their eyes are focused on a rogue traffic signal that hasn't turned green.

Updated 2012 - In an article posted by The Chronicle of Higher Education Dr. Richard Jackson outlines what he describes as the health hazards of urban design.