The Urbanist Agenda

The Staggering Ignorance of Traffic Engineers (with Build the Lanes)

Sep 29, 2023

Join Jason and Steph as they discuss the myopic approach of Traffic Engineers in America, and how it ruins cities. They explore the flaws in the profession, critique street-road hybrids, and highlight the loss of historic downtowns due to traffic planning. They emphasize the lack of prioritization for pedestrian safety and the overshadowing of national monuments by car infrastructure.

51:43

Episode guests

Steffen Berr

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Transportation engineering education in the US is lacking compared to the Netherlands, resulting in a lack of expertise in designing safe and efficient roads.

US traffic engineers prioritize the flow of traffic over safety and fail to address the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, leading to dangerous road designs.

The US traffic engineering profession lacks balance and fails to consider broader objectives, focusing primarily on moving cars quickly, perpetuating a cycle of road expansion and induced demand.

Deep dives

The Problem with Transportation Engineering Education in the US

Transportation engineering education in the United States is lacking compared to the Netherlands. In the US, transportation engineering is often an afterthought within the broader civil engineering curriculum, with limited coursework and minimal real-world experience. This leads to a lack of knowledge and expertise in designing safe and efficient roads and streets. In contrast, the Netherlands has separate transportation engineering programs that focus on road design, sustainable safety, and field experience. Graduates from these programs have a better understanding of transportation principles and practical design skills.

Introduction

2min

Challenging the Narrative: Remote Work and Transportation Engineering

17min

Flaws in the Profession of Traffic Engineering

17min

The Disastrous Strodes: Criticizing Street-Road Hybrids

6min

The Loss of Historic Downtowns and Urban Fabric due to Traffic Planning

2min

The Absurdity of Traffic Engineering

6min

Becoming a Transportation Engineer and Moving to the Netherlands

3min

America has Traffic Engineers. The Netherlands has Transportation Engineers. One is concerned with moving as many cars as possible, the other builds transportation systems. In this podcast, I'm joined by Steffen Berr, an American Traffic Engineer turned Transportation Engineer who now lives in the Netherlands. We discuss the myopic approach taken by Traffic Engineers in America, and how it ultimately ruins cities.

Steffen has a great article that is worth reading:

https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/america-has-no-transportation-engineers

Strong Towns Conversation with an Engineer: https://youtu.be/P9BUyWVg1xI

Wonderland Road: https://youtu.be/Ds-v2-qyCc8

Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes

Build the Lanes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildthelanes

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