Old traffic returns to new Kosciuszko Bridge

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - There are several impressive things about the new Kosciuszko Bridge. It's the first major bridge New York City has built since 1964, and what was originally a six-lane bridge has now been expanded to nine.

But despite all the changes, one thing has stayed the same. Traffic.

Heavy traffic crawled along the new bridge on its opening day, a victim of a theory known as "induced demand," the notion that if you build more roadways, more cars will come, this failing to improve congestion.

"You get the environment you build for," said transportation advocate Peter Beadle. "So if you build for cars you get cars, if you build for more cars, you're going to get more cars. The good news is you can flip that around. So if you start building for fewer cars, but more buses, more bikes, more other ways to get around, you'll get them."

Beadle says that when drivers lament a lane being dedicated to cyclists, they should take a look at the new Kosciuszko Bridge and consider how more lanes don't always mean faster commutes.