Major High-Income World Urban Areas:
Freeway Access and Capacity

ESTIMATES AT 2005.07.20      
         
TABLES:        
Ranked by Urban Access (Freeway Miles)    
Ranked by Urban Capacity (Lane Miles)      
Data        
         
RANKED BY URBAN ACCESS      
Urban Area Urban Access: Freeway Miles per Urban Square Mile Rank Urban Capacity: Freeway Lane-Miles per Urban Square Mile Rank
Hong Kong 1.213 1 6.488 1
Madrid 0.677 2 3.986 2
Barcelona 0.523 3 2.910 4
Singapore 0.497 4 3.443 3
Rhine-Ruhr-Wupper 0.443 5 2.635 6
Montreal 0.424 6 2.380 8
Athens 0.352 7 2.119 9
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto 0.349 8 1.874 11
Toronto 0.348 9 2.666 5
Los Angeles 0.310 10 2.571 7
Paris 0.275 11 1.521 15
San Francisco 0.270 12 1.913 10
Dallas-Fort Worth 0.268 13 1.605 12
Milan 0.263 14 1.537 14
Houston 0.263 15 1.367 18
New York 0.255 16 1.502 16
Washington 0.249 17 1.563 13
Detroit 0.229 18 1.436 17
Tokyo-Yokohama 0.209 19 1.048 23
Philadelphia 0.199 20 1.013 24
Boston 0.197 21 1.129 22
Miami 0.188 22 1.146 21
Chicago 0.171 23 0.957 27
Phoenix 0.168 24 1.162 20
Melbourne 0.166 25 0.987 25
Atlanta 0.164 26 1.249 19
Berlin 0.163 27 0.979 26
Nagoya 0.162 28 0.886 28
Sydney 0.140 29 0.618 29
London 0.100 30 0.584 30
         
RANKED BY URBAN CAPACITY      
Urban Area Urban Access: Freeway Miles per Urban Square Mile Rank Urban Capacity: Freeway Lane-Miles per Urban Square Mile Rank
Hong Kong 1.213 1 6.488 1
Madrid 0.677 2 3.986 2
Singapore 0.497 4 3.443 3
Barcelona 0.523 3 2.910 4
Toronto 0.348 9 2.666 5
Rhine-Ruhr-Wupper 0.443 5 2.635 6
Los Angeles 0.310 10 2.571 7
Montreal 0.424 6 2.380 8
Athens 0.352 7 2.119 9
San Francisco 0.270 12 1.913 10
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto 0.349 8 1.874 11
Dallas-Fort Worth 0.268 13 1.605 12
Washington 0.249 17 1.563 13
Milan 0.263 14 1.537 14
Paris 0.275 11 1.521 15
New York 0.255 16 1.502 16
Detroit 0.229 18 1.436 17
Houston 0.263 15 1.367 18
Atlanta 0.164 26 1.249 19
Phoenix 0.168 24 1.162 20
Miami 0.188 22 1.146 21
Boston 0.197 21 1.129 22
Tokyo-Yokohama 0.209 19 1.048 23
Philadelphia 0.199 20 1.013 24
Melbourne 0.166 25 0.987 25
Berlin 0.163 27 0.979 26
Chicago 0.171 23 0.957 27
Nagoya 0.162 28 0.886 28
Sydney 0.140 29 0.618 29
London 0.100 30 0.584 30
         
         
DATA        
Urban Area Population (000) Land Area (Square Miles) Freeway Route Miles Lane Miles
Athens 3,685 270 95 572
Atlanta 3,450 1,830 300 2,285
Barcelona 3,900 310 162 902
Berlin 3,675 380 62 372
Boston 3,990 2,100 414 2,370
Chicago 8,125 2,785 475 2,665
Dallas-Fort Worth 4,300 1,935 518 3,105
Detroit 4,050 1,330 304 1,910
Hong Kong 6,140 80 97 519
Houston 3,750 1,800 473 2,460
London 8,278 627 63 366
Los Angeles 12,500 2,275 705 5,850
Madrid 4,900 365 247 1,455
Melbourne 3,050 760 126 750
Miami 5,100 1,680 316 1,925
Milan 4,250 600 158 922
Montreal 3,216 671 284 1,597
Nagoya 9,000 1,110 180 984
New York 17,700 4,775 1,220 7,170
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto 16,425 990 346 1855
Paris 9,645 1,051 289 1,599
Philadelphia 5,285 2,270 451 2,300
Phoenix 3,005 1,140 192 1,325
Rhine-Ruhr-Wupper 7,350 1,020 452 2688
San Francisco 4,125 1,265 342 2,420
Singapore 4,000 185 92 637
Sydney 3,500 600 84 371
Tokyo-Yokohama 33,200 2,710 567 2,839
Toronto 4,367 639 222 1,703
Washington 4,270 1,305 325 2,040
         
NOTES        
Freeway: A roadway with two or more lanes in each direction with no at-grade cross-traffic (a freeway may or may not be tolled). Also called an autoroute or motorway.
Urban area: Area of continuous urban development (includes continuous suburban development)
Urban areas with more than 3,000,000 population. International urban area data from Demographia World Urban Areas.
US data from Federal Highway Administration and Texas Transportation Institute (this data does not necessarily correspond with Census Bureau data). Atlanta population estimate from Demographia.
A one-way freeway (such as the Voie Georges Pompideau in Paris) is counted as 0.5 miles per route mile.
International freeway data estimated by Demographia (The Public Purpose) using maps and satellite images.
2000-2003 data.        

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