Research Valley

Escaping traffic congestion by relocating seems like a good plan, until the plan is embraced by the masses. New residents bring their cars and their need to commute to work, school and children’s activities. The congestion they left behind is created anew.

Enter Timothy Lomax, one of the nation’s foremost mobility experts, and his peers at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. They understand traffic woes, and they’re doing something about it.

While traffic congestion might be inevitable, it does not, Lomax says, have to be paralyzing.

“I think with a little more recognition of how commercial and residential growth affects con gestion, many of the problems can be avoided,” he says. “We can slow down growth in traffic congestion if we invest and plan wisely.”

Research Valley economic developers have taken to heart the advice of Lomax, who has been studying these issues for nearly 25 years. The area’s steady growth is a sure sign it’s paid off.

“I think when a company shows an interest in an area, it goes up a notch when the leaders can say ‘Here’s what we expect over the next few years in terms of traffic flow, and here’s our plan to deal with it.’ I don’t think there’s any question that it helps generate economic growth.”

Lomax’s work reaches well beyond the Research Valley. He has testified before subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and Texas Senate on mobility issues. Lomax has been invited to make presentations on congestion, mobility and performance measure issues to a variety of groups, including the Transportation Research Board, the Institute of Transportation Engineers and state and local governments in the U.S.