I am pretty sure that by now every Mauritian is aware that our main road (M1) was widened. I believe the Road Development Authority (RDA) came up with this initiative with the intention of mitigating the awful consequences of traffic congestion ranging from global warming to obesity. While we should congratulate the RDA for having at least decided to make a move and take up the fight against road congestion, we ought to take a closer look at whether this decision will really benefit our population...

What is sad in Mauritius is that because of a lack of fund, we are often incapable of conducting our own research. However, what is pitiful is that we forget or refuse to take a look at the research other countries have conducted before implementing our potential projects. If the ones who are in charge of our roads in Mauritius had glanced at the empirical data countries like the US have collected, they would have stumbled upon the fact that road widening, apart from being expensive, is ineffective when it comes to dwindling traffic congestion. Like Roy Kienitz, Executive Director of Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) so rightly put it, "It''s like trying to cure obesity by loosening your belt."

Statistics have shown that adding more lanes or building more highways has failed to mitigate traffic congestion but that, on the contrary, the latter has made matters worse. The counterintuitive nature of this statement is so bewildering that many road engineers scoff at it and continue building according to what their intuition tells them. A study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley between 1973 an 1990 shows that for every 10 percent increase in roadway capacity, traffic increased by 9 percent in four years' time.

One example of a country which has had to face what is now coined as induced traffic is Atlanta. For a substantial amount of years, Atlanta has tried to solve the problem of traffic congestion by compounding the number of highways. This in turn caused sprawl. As a result, Atlantans are now the individuals who, on average, drive more miles a day than any other residents of any other city. As traffic capacity is increased, longer commutes appear to be less burdensome and people are willing to live farther from their workplace. If everybody makes the same decision, the long- distance commute becomes as clogged as the inner city, commuters beg for more lanes and the cycle repeats itself.

Based on these statistics from research, I conclude that the RDA approach has made us more prone to traffic congestion instead of easing the latter. But what is the solution to traffic congestion? In fact, to tackle this major problem a systemic and holistic approach is required: a series of different measures needs to be implemented at the same time. It's like when one tries to reduce his weight: he sure needs to exercise but at the same time, he has to control his diet and have a proper hygiene.

Like I mentioned in one of my previous articles, the real solution to this pervading problem is none other than a wide spectrum of measures: New Urbanism combined with such small but yet important initiatives like carpooling. The densification of cities, the fostering of walkable neighbourhoods and interconnected roads are measures which are yet unheard of in Mauritius but which when implemented at the same time, would prove very effective in reducing traffic congestion.

The measures which the RDA and even certain road engineers have been turning to are useless and have only helped to make matters worse. The latter are analogous to a humorous but yet lethal measure certain obese persons turn to in order to fight obesity: they loosen their belt. It is a measure which lures them into thinking that they have solved the problem but in fact the problem is only lurking and getting worse...