4 Reasons to Remove Traffic Lights in the Era of Peak Driving – CityLab.

All surely valid data … but it’s Detroit.  The one in Michigan.  The one that has lost 60-ish percent of its population in the last 60-ish years.  Removing signals there is a great idea.  Selling the recovered equipment will surely more than pay for the new stop signs they’ll need.  At some point they’ll need to consider closing and depaving streets – they just aren’t needed.

But did I mention this is Detroit?  I’m not sure what relevance this study has to any other city.  At least cities not named Cleveland, Buffalo, or Youngstown.  The authors make the point that vehicle-miles traveled have leveled off nationwide after growing every single year since the end of the Second World War and that this may be a guide.  Yes, it may be but in the developed part of the country (i.e. not Detroit) VMT has leveled but it’s not dropping.