Gridlock (novel) Gridlock (novel) Gridlock is a 1991 novel by Ben Elton. The novel depicts a near-future London in which traffic congestion has reached almost critical levels, such that accidents in a few key places could bring the entire city's traffic network to a halt. The government is aware of the problem and plans a major new road-building program to relieve the pressure. The alternative, heavy investment in public mass transport systems such as railways, is ignored because it clashes with the government's ideology. The author argues that this is a highly misguided policy since, in his view, more roads have historically
Gridlock in a different context. The first appearances of "gridlock" in newspapers occurred during the 1980 New York City transit strike. The word is attributed to Sam Schwartz, who was then the chief traffic engineer for the New York City Department of Transportation at the time of the strike. Schwartz said the word "gridlock" was used internally in his department during the 1970s, perhaps as early as 1971. Writing up a memo of emergency recommendations for senior officials, he recalled the words of a colleague several years earlier who had been analyzing a proposal to close Broadway to vehicular traffic. His