Failed freeways are a road to nowhere

Freeways have failed to solve traffic congestion, but transport planners globally are hesitant to remove or rethink them, according to University of Queensland research. UQ PhD candidate Fahimeh Khalaj said freeways and highways were not a magic wand for solving transport congestion and global cities - from Seoul to Madrid - were revitalising and meeting sustainability goals through urban freeway removal. "The transport planners' mantra of 'build more highways' has failed miserably," Ms Khalaj said. "Freeways are an environmental disaster, expensive to maintain, divide cities and neighbourhoods, and drastically incentivise car ownership rather than fostering community-based transport." The team reviewed 45 studies, finding highways were often removed due to financial concerns about repair costs, but were often replaced with other car-based infrastructure accompanied by active transport space. Ms Khalaj said the results suggested that the mentality of urban planners had not radically shifted. "While many cities are indeed creating human-scale and active transport spaces, these spaces coexist alongside highways," she said. UQ's Dr Dorina Pojani said there were startling differences between planning trends internationally.