Should I-35 Be Expanded In Austin Essay

Should I-35 be Expanded in Austin?

Transportation is a part of everyone’s daily life. Walking around a park, going on a bike ride through your local neighborhood, or even skateboarding down the street, transportation is embedded in our lives. One of the most notable modes of transportation are the cars and highways. Cars and highways are two interconnected components of modern transportation systems. Cars are personal vehicles designed for individual or group transportation, while highways are large road networks designed to provide efficient and safe travel between destinations. If this is the case, then surely expanding it through cities such as Austin would be the right choice or is it. The expansion of I-35 is a debate that is being argued

This usually consists of an hour drive to campus and back home daily. Whenever I am on the highway, I can’t help but see the volume of cars that are on the highway and how much traffic there is. With such a high volume of cars, this can’t be good for the environment. With just a few google searches, I was able to find out more about the history of highways. The development of highways has had a profound impact on modern societies, as it has greatly facilitated the movement of people and goods across vast distances. Highways have played a significant role in shaping the growth of cities and suburban areas, as well as in enabling the growth of industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. However, the use of cars and highways also has some negative effects, such as traffic congestion, air pollution, and accidents. As a result, there have been ongoing efforts to improve the safety and sustainability of cars and highways through better design, technology, and regulations. Current carbon emissions were around 41% from just passenger cars, and that I-35, one of the biggest highways plans to extend in Austin. Due to how much I am on the highways, it peaked my interest to know that Austin, a city that plans on having net zero emissions by 2040, is allowing this project to

If Austin’s goal is to have zero emissions, why should the highway even be expanded in the first place. The textbook answer is that it would reduce congestion, improve safety, and support economic growth by facilitating the movement of goods and include improvements to public transportation, such as dedicated bus lanes or a new light rail system. Another question could be whether this is environmentally friendly. Environmentalists argue that this would actually increase emissions, arguing that this would only lead to an increase in the usage of highways and interstates, therefore increasing the demand of passenger car transportation. Another question could be why expand a highway when we can just focus on making current transportation more green. While I have some answers to these questions now, I plan on finding more answers and questions the further I research this