|
Land Area Devoted to Roads in the United States
|
| Functional
System
|
Road
length
miles
|
Avg
# lanes
number
|
Avg
lane width
feet
|
Shoulders
& dividers width
feet
|
Right-of-way
width
feet
|
Total
effective road width
feet
|
Private
road
factor coefficient
|
Minimum
area directly consumed by road
sq. miles
|
| RURAL |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Interstate |
33,067 |
4.1 |
12.0 |
35.0 |
215.8 |
300.0 |
1.00 |
1,879 |
| Other
Principal Arterial |
98,952 |
2.3 |
11.6 |
22.5 |
350.8 |
250.0 |
1.00 |
4,685 |
| Minor
Arterial |
137,751 |
2.1 |
11.5 |
15.0 |
260.9 |
200.0 |
1.00 |
5,218 |
| Major
Collector |
433,754 |
2.0 |
10.9 |
10.0 |
168.2 |
150.0 |
1.00 |
12,323 |
| Minor
Collector |
272,360 |
2.0 |
10.1 |
5.0 |
74.8 |
100.0 |
1.01 |
5,210 |
| Local
Road |
2,102,977 |
1.7 |
10.0 |
4.0 |
29.0 |
50.0 |
1.05 |
20,910 |
| RURAL
SUBTOTAL |
3,078,870 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
50,225 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| URBAN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Interstate |
13,491 |
5.4 |
12.0 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
64.8 |
1.00 |
166 |
| Other
Freeways and Expressways |
9,175 |
4.5 |
12.0 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
54.0 |
1.00 |
94 |
| Other
Principal Arterial |
53,447 |
3.4 |
11.5 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
39.1 |
1.00 |
396 |
| Minor
Arterial |
89,911 |
2.5 |
11.3 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
28.3 |
1.00 |
481 |
| Collector |
88,604 |
2.1 |
11.1 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
23.3 |
1.01 |
395 |
| Local
Road |
598,514 |
1.8 |
10.9 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
19.6 |
1.03 |
2,291 |
| URBAN
SUBTOTAL |
853,142 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,822 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| TOTAL |
3,932,012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
54,047 |
|
Land Area Devoted to Parking in the United States
|
| Country |
Size
of vehicle fleet
cars + commercial
vehicles
|
Land
area/ Parking space
sq. meters
|
Minimum
number of parking spaces/ Vehicle
number
|
Total
land area used for parking
hectares
|
Land
area consumed by road
hectares
|
TOTAL
land area consumed by the car
(Parking Area + Road Area)
hectares
|
| United
States |
213,509,100
|
30
|
3
|
1,921,582
|
13,998,033
|
15,919,615
|
|
Land Area Consumed by the the Car in Selected
Countries
|
| Country |
Population
millions
|
Land
area
hectares
|
Total
road distance
kilometers
|
Size
of vehicle fleet
cars + commercial vehicles
|
TOTAL
Land area consumed by the car
(Parking Area + Road Area) hectares
|
| United
States |
278 |
915,896,000 |
6,310,000 |
213,509,100 |
15,919,615 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Canada |
31 |
922,097,000 |
902,000 |
17,262,358 |
2,275,656 |
| Mexico |
99 |
192,304,000 |
342,000 |
7,850,000 |
862,832 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Japan |
127 |
37,474,400 |
1,152,000 |
71,722,762 |
1,316,591 |
| France |
59 |
54,563,000 |
893,000 |
33,089,000 |
1,020,586 |
| Germany |
82 |
34,922,300 |
656,000 |
45,793,265 |
749,725 |
| United
Kingdom |
59 |
24,159,000 |
372,000 |
30,931,191 |
425,149 |
| Sweden |
9 |
41,093,400 |
211,000 |
4,259,027 |
241,146 |
| Current
and Potential Land Area Consumed by the Car in India and China |
| Country |
Current
size of vehicle fleet
cars + commercial
vehicles
|
Vehicle
ownership level number of vehicles/ thousand people
|
Total
road distance
kilometers
|
TOTAL
Current land area devoted to the car
(Parking Area + Road Area)
hectares
|
Vehicle
fleet size for industrialized vehicle ownership level
cars + commercial vehicles
|
Total
paved area needed for industrialized auto ownership level
(Assumes 0.02 hectares needed per vehicle)
hectares
|
| India |
8,200,000
|
8
|
3,319,614
|
3,793,900
|
512,500,000
|
10,250,000
|
| China |
12,800,000
|
10
|
1,210,000
|
1,382,877
|
640,000,000
|
12,800,000
|
CONVERSIONS
1 mile = 5280 feet = 259 hectares
1 square mile = 2.59 square kilometer = 259 hectares
Calculations
by Janet Larsen, Earth Policy Institute
|
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