I've been fortunate to work with cities around the world as they contend with how to keep people and goods moving in a growing community.

When I read Peter Shawn Taylor's recent column ("It is unrealistic to make streets 100% safe without causing gridlock," Nov. 7), I saw the same tired misconceptions that always seem to come up as cities shift from 20th century approaches to traffic, which are focused on moving cars and trucks, to contemporary approaches, which are focused on what's really important - efficiently moving people and goods.

The biggest misconception is that this change is simply a reaction to a small band of vocal cycling and pedestrian advocates. While that advocacy is important, that's not why cities are moving beyond vehicle-centric planning models. The real reason is because these models simply don't scale as cities grow in population and density.

As cities mature, the opportunity to add more road capacity diminishes. First, there simply isn't room to add a lot more road space. Even if there was room, paying for new roads becomes challenging. Established cities already have a significant road network that needs to be maintained. Adding new roads - at up to $3 million per kilometre - is challenging from a budget perspective. Worse, even when cities can add new road capacity, it tends to be a temporary fix. Traffic planners note that adding road capacity briefly shortens travel times, which in turn can induce even more demand - in some cases using up the new capacity in as short as three years. If cities try to stick with vehicle-centric models as they grow, they eventually use up available road capacity. The result is gridlock - with nothing moving quickly or reliably.

If we can't simply pave our way to a solution, then growing cities must come up with ways to better use the road network they have.

One part of the solution is to encourage more space-efficient modes of transportation. A single person in a car travelling a short distance to run an errand takes up about the same amount of space as a small van delivering much-needed stock to a retail store. While we don't always have a viable substitute for the latter, the former trip could take up a lot less road capacity if we could convince people to instead walk, bike or take transit. But people are rational - they'll only choose the more space-efficient option if they feel it is reasonably convenient and safe.

Complete Streets initiatives, which reimagine streets to enable safe and efficient access for all users, and Vision Zero initiatives, which aim to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries, are attempts to address both concerns. Making room for transit, pedestrians and cyclists can - for a comparatively small investment - improve the throughput of an existing road. Witness King Street in Toronto, which recently prioritized transit, pedestrians and cyclists. The project saw transit alone move 12,000 more people per day, and a significant increase in cycling, with minimal impact on vehicle trip times.

Replacing some trips with space efficient modes is part of the solution, but it isn't the entire solution. If you are taking your whole family across town, or are moving freight, a car or a truck can be the right tool for the job. The good news is that technology can help move more vehicles without adding more road.

Traditional traffic signals were unconnected and often unco-ordinated. Even those signals that were co-ordinated were done so based on seasonal traffic studies. As seasons and patterns changed, they became less effective at keeping traffic moving. The good news is that signals are getting smarter - and connected. Signals can now give traffic engineers real-time insights into traffic patterns, allowing signal timing to be continually optimized. That alone can make a big difference in traffic congestion. I've seen cities show a 25 to 33 per cent reduction in peak travel times through particularly congested corridors with the addition of smarter traffic signals.

Waterloo Region is forecasted to attract 27 per cent more people in just 11 years. Keeping those people moving - safely and efficiently - requires a different approach. Hats off to Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo for recognizing the limits of traditional approaches and the advantages, in terms of cost and efficacy, of embracing Complete Streets and Vision Zero.

Kurtis McBride is the CEO of Miovision, Kitchener company that uses computer vision, artificial intelligence and advanced modelling to help cities modernize their approach to managing traffic to make roads more efficient and safer.