Portland is a PR machine for light rail & streetcar

Here are Some Facts About Portland          

You Can Build Your Way Out Of Congestion

Here is a well balanced article on building your way out of congetion  Archived Copy

From page 2 of ADCsummer07:

San Jose is living proof that crowded cities can build their way out of congestion: Between 1989 and 1994, the region gained 100,000 new jobs, yet new road construction cut the delays encountered by the average rush-hour driver in half. ...

In 1984, voters in Santa Clara County (of which San Jose is the seat) approved a ten-year half-cent sales tax for new highways. This allowed the construction of several new freeways and the expansion of several more. As a result, the Texas Transportation Institute estimates that the delay facing each rush-hour commuter declined from 100 hours per year in 1989 to just 50 hours in 1994.