Writing, part 1, Coursebook, page 196

In the last 10 years, traffic congestion has become one of the

worst problems of our city. More and more people claim to
having suffered from stress, which affects their performance at
work. Fortunately, our government has recently announced that
they will start searching solutions. In this essay, I will discuss
two possible approaches to the issue, and decide which one
appears to be the most effective.
On the one hand, no one would dispute the fact that the
improvement of public transport can reduce the volume of
traffic significantly. Many people claim that the lack of
frequency of trains and buses obliges them to take their cars to
work, contributing to the congestion that commuters suffer
everyday. Nevertheless, if improvements were done in the
quality of means of transport, such as increasing the frequency
of trains per hour, several drivers would opt to leave their cars
at home, consequently reducing the traffic.
On the other hand, building more and better roads can also be
a good tactic. According to a recent survey, our motorways do
not have a sufficient number of lines if compared with other
metropolitan cities. Judging by the comments made by experts,
enhancing our transport links and widening our streets can
sharply reduce traffic jams. Unfortunately, this project would
mean expropriating houses and expensive investments.
Taking everything into consideration, it seems to me that
upgrading public transport is the accurate course of action. Not
only this approach would certainly reduce traffic congestion,
but the smaller number of cars in the streets could help to
decrease the atmospheric pollution.