There Will Be A Slight Delay (1971)

This mid-century policy documentary argues that America’s mounting “slight delays” are symptoms of systemic transportation bottlenecks—physical, financial, and political—across highways, airports, rail, and urban transit. Experts praise the Interstate program but warn it’s unfinished and can’t carry most traffic; neglected “ABC” roads need upgrades, and user-tax trust funds shouldn’t be raided. In aviation, access roads, terminal processing, and ground capacity lag even as jumbo jets boost passenger volumes; more and better-designed airports and people-mover links are urged. Rail passenger service has withered, prompting a limited national takeover and calls for modern equipment and high-speed corridors, while cities face spreading rush-hour peaks that only robust mass transit—BART-style metros, exclusive bus lanes, park-and-ride—can relieve. The film champions a “systems approach” that coordinates all modes and their interfaces, doubles effective capacity without doubling concrete, and aligns federal, state, and local planning. Financing should blend carrier tariffs, user charges, and, realistically, subsidies for transit, given wider benefits like jobs and property values. The takeaway: it will cost less to fix the network now than to endure worsening congestion, and personal mobility will improve only when the whole system works for everyone.

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