[jawns]

One of the things this type of intervention doesn't take into account is that different roads are built with different levels of hardiness based on the amount of traffic they are expected to receive.

For instance, a few years ago, a segment of I-495 in Delaware needed to be unexpectedly shut down for emergency repairs. Drivers were rerouted. But because of the increase in traffic on the less-hardy detour route, that route needed repairs and repaving soon afterward, much more quickly than it would have ordinarily required.

So yes, drivers can be better dispersed to ease congestion, but we also need to consider the secondary effects to the roadways themselves.

[thomastjeffery]

A random factoid that will always stick in my brain is that the damage a vehicle does to a road is proportional to the weight on an axel...to the fourth power. I suspect rerouting semis to the roadway is by far the greatest factor.

[dghlsakjg]

Another random fact is that Norman Mailer coined ‘factoid’ to refer to a fabrication presented as fact, but now means the opposite (as in, a fact presented as a fact, not a fact presented as fabrication).

So it’s now one of those words like ‘literally’ which can be its own antonym.

[Dylan16807]

My pet peeve is people claiming "literally" is now being used to mean the opposite. It is never used that way. When people use "literally" in the weakened and figurative way, they are not using it to mean "figuratively". They are using it to mean "very much".

[walthamstow]

It is often used that way, at least in Britain, e.g. "I'm literally dying" to indicate something being very funny

[thomastjeffery]

I'm actually a fan. It's an excellent exploration of sarcasm: what you literally say in a sarcastic tone might have a metaphorical meaning, or it might be a twice application of sarcasm that loops back to literal meaning, like in deadpan comedy.

[thakoppno]

One factoid about Norman Mailer: he stabbed his wife.

[thomastjeffery]

I second guessed my usage, but decided it was a good way to communicate my lack of experience and confidence in the specifics.

[n4r9]

It's a nice self-referential loop. The definition of factoid is, itself, a factoid.

[analog31]

Also, pedestrians and cyclists choose lesser traveled roads for safety. Granted you're talking huge roads but on a smaller scale, filling up neighborhood streets with commuter traffic is likely to provoke a backlash.

[Iggyhopper]

People just want to get to their next destination faster.

Long story short: More public transport sounds like a good idea to prevent more situations like you posted.