The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

66 The Privatization of Roads and Highways
how to locate housing, shopping, recreation, and employment
opportunities, on the other; and second, in ensuring, by increased
governmental planning initiatives, that all these factors are coordinated
with each other.
With regard to the lack of auto-mass transit synchronization,
Owen argues:
Clearly, the fortunes of both the automobile and public transport
are interdependent. The success of each depends on what
is done about the other. Yet in nearly every city in the world
these two major parts of the single problem of how to provide
adequate mobility for the urban population are being separately
planned and financed. The outcome is reflected in the
severity of street congestion, the absence of acceptable standards
of public transport, the lack of genuine travel options,
and the neglected travel needs of large segments of the population.
The continuing rise in car ownership and the growing
obstacles to providing satisfactory public transport point to the
need for a combined strategy. 28
Owen then justifies land-use controls on the following
grounds:
Rapid transit solutions may also create congestion rather than
alleviate it. For while some routes may never develop sufficient
traffic to warrant a subway, the high density routes that do
require such facilities may encourage areas of high-density
growth that generate more transit traffic than can be conveniently
handled without lowering service standards. Without
effective land-use controls, the tendency toward greater concentration
of economic activity will make congestion, inclusive of
street congestion, worse than ever. 29
28Owen, The Accessible City, pp. 43–44.
29Ibid., pp. 48–49; emphasis added. See also Wohl, “Must Something Be
Done About Traffic Congestion?” where he advocates the reduction of
employment density.