Causes of Traffic Congestion in Houston

When I came to Houston for the first time I heard a lot of complaints about traffic congestion. Initially, I did not notice that. However, one day, in the evening I went out of my home, I could not get access to the university on time due to congestion in the highway. I have discovered that there are peak hours of traffic congestion associated with the work times. Nevertheless, this is not the main cause of the problem of traffic congestion in Houston! In fact, I know in the field of urban planning (my study field), that there are many reasons for traffic congestion related with the rate of car ownership, transport alternatives, the efficiency of the transport system, and distribution of commercial activities within the city.We can develop logical solutions contribute to reducing traffic congestion in Houston. However, we must first determine the main reasons for this congestion. In fact, I know that there is public transport system in Houston, but I have no information whether this system covers the entire city and important areas or not. In addition, I have no information whether a lot of people prefer to use alternatives transport other than the car such as walking, bike, motorcycle, and the effectiveness of these alternatives to replace the car as a means of transportation. Moreover, I have no information about the rate of car ownership in the city and the distribution of commercial activities within the city. I will be also need to statistical data on the peak times of the traffic congestion and the way of distributed in the main roads.