Is Traffic Increasing with Declining Population? Illinois and the Chicago Area
Principle Investigator: Dr. Siim Sööt
Co-Investigator: Dr. P.S. Sriraj
The focus of this white paper is to examine, at the gross level, the trend in population, jobs, number of households, labor force participation and income and discuss how these variables collectively effect transportation demand.
In Illinois, the number of jobs and households are on the rise, pointing to a healthy economy. Increases in employment and growing number of households lead to the consumption of big-ticket items such as appliances, cars and homes; the outcome therefore counteracts a drop in population. Rising incomes -- together with more jobs and more households -- creates a compounding effect that results in increasing demand for goods and services. These goods and services need to be accessed or delivered resulting in more traffic. These developments have translated to rising numbers of miles traveled on the state’s highways (VMT) especially in urban areas.