Well the problem is multifold. To oversimplify:
- We (and I'm speaking about America in general) want good roads, but don't want to pay for them.
- We complain about toll roads, and we complain when proposals to raise the gas tax are floated, so the two main sources of road funding get whittled down as a result.
- For various myriad reasons, oil, concrete, and steel prices have shot up markedly in recent years, meaning that transportation revenue buys less now than it did even 5 years ago.
- We allowed developers and elected leaders to build us to the point where most of us have no choice but to drive to get anywhere and sit in traffic in the process.
- And for those who like the suburban cul-de-sac type of development, too many either fail to understand or don't care that it A) requires more driving, and B) concentrates traffic on fewer routes, than more traditional development, which is both more walkable and has a grid-system of streets to spread traffic out.
I could wax poetic for weeks on the subject, but that's the main points right there...