I've lived in downtown Austin for six years, and my commute has gotten worse every single year. Last month it took me 45 minutes to drive 3 miles during rush hour. I think the solution isn't building wider roads—that just attracts more cars—but making driving expensive enough that people actually reconsider. Congestion pricing, where you pay to enter busy zones during peak times, worked in London and Singapore. But I'm not sure if Americans would accept it, because we treat driving as a right, not a privilege. Still, I'd rather pay $8 a day than lose two hours of my life sitting in traffic.