The average speed at which cars travel through the metro area is actually slower than in many European capitals, including Paris, Berlin and Warsaw.
Motorists clock a leisurely average speed of 24 kilometers an hour (15 mph), compared to 45 kilometers an hour in 1998.
So what, you may ask? But experts say slow traffic can have a profound negative impact on the lives of citizens. Not only does pollution increase when cars are driven at slower speeds but the irritation of waiting in traffic day after day can build up over time and cause mental problems later in life, psychologists have learned. In one recent study, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found negative responses to many daily stresses, including standing in long lines or sitting in traffic, that led to psychological distress or anxiety and mood disorders ten years later.
A major conclusion drawn from recent Jalisco Traffic Department (Semov) studies suggests that the slew of tunnels and bridges built in Guadalajara over the past few decades, ostensibly to ease traffic congestion, have failed in their aims. The only major multi-lane “freeway” cutting through the city is Avenida Lopez Mateos, and while efforts have been made to increase flow by reducing its intersections and traffic lights, the thoroughfare still suffers from congestion, especially at peak hours.Politicians’ lack of enthusiasm for an efficient non-motorized transportation system has also fueled the congestion. A third subway line for Guadalajara has only recently been approved – more than two decades after Line Two opened.
In addition, traffic authorities register around 280 new vehicles each day, adding to the circulation conundrum on Guadalajara’s antiquated streets and avenues.
Some experts say Guadalajara is living on borrowed time and that residents should expect more traffic jams in ensuing years if innovative solutions are not found soon. They warn that Guadalajara could be resigned to the same fate as Mexico City, where traffic crawls along at an average of 17 kilometers per hour.
A few experts have warned that the metro area is in danger of becoming like London, England, whose mostly antiquated traffic infrastructure has made the city the most congested in the world, according to some studies.
But despite its problems, London’s extensive public transport system manages to keep millions of potential drivers off its narrow congested streets. Its figure of three million privately owned cars registered to eight million residents compares favorably with Guadalajara’s total of 1.8 million registered to 4.5 million inhabitants. And around half of London’s working population commutes to their jobs by public transport – a far higher figure than in Guadalajara.
Even with a third subway line Tapatios may not notice a significant drop in the number of cars on the streets. Most people expected to take the new line are likely to be regular bus users who simply switch over. Authorities have yet to produce studies to show how many people may leave their cars at home to use the subway line.
Guadalajara’s pro non-motorized transport lobby says authorities are bereft of visionary ideas to change the situation, and seem unable to learn from innovations finding favor in other cities around the world.
In a unique move in 2003, London introduced a daily “congestion charge” for vehicles driven in the center of the city on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Two other European cities, Milan and Stockholm, have since followed suit and the concept has been looked at closely by city governments in many other developed nations. Many major cities in the United States and Canada operate “park and ride” networks to encourage the use of public transport. Even more pioneering is the upswing in car sharing, where people rent cars for short periods of time, as well as online ride-sharing services that match drivers with passengers in need of a ride.