News flash!

Does this item surprise anybody?

The Federal Highway Administration has notified the state its carpool lanes are too slow – slower than an average of 45 miles an hour during peak periods. The lanes have been under the agency’s oversight since the state started allowing solo hybrid drivers to use them.

The short news byte also adds a delicious bit of dramatic irony when the Caltrans spokesperson notes, with a hint of incredulity, the impact of continued highway expansion in a growing region:

“Vehicle miles traveled actually increases faster than population growth,so as we continue to get more people driving on our highways, that’s obviously going to impact the congestion.”

Obviously. Obviously and inevitably, when you build a transportation system that facilitates continued use of the automobile and gives people few alternative choices.

It's more than a little disingenuous for Caltrans to imply that population growth alone drives the increase in VMT. The rate of increase is exacerbated if we continue to build freeways that induce traffic demand, rather than pursuing strategies that reduce both congestion and traffic.