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15 Jul 2026, 08:00
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Strengthen: Data from similar cities shows that over 80 percent of urban air pollution originates from regional commuters, and that implementing congestion pricing significantly reduces this pollution and decreases transit times by encouraging commuting during non-peak hours and carpooling.
Weaken: Congestion pricing frequently leads to “traffic displacement,” in which drivers avoid paying the fee to enter high-traffic zones by cutting through residential side streets, increasing both local gridlock and the risk of accidents in neighborhoods.
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Difficulty:
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Question Stats:
80% (02:31) correct
20%
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wrong
based on 423
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City C is considering two urban planning concepts for traffic management: traffic calming and congestion pricing. Traffic calming involves physical design changes to streets, such as speed bumps, roundabouts, and curb extensions, that are intended to slow vehicles and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. In contrast, congestion pricing is a market-based strategy that charges drivers a fee to enter high-traffic zones during peak hours, aiming to reduce the total volume of cars by incentivizing the use of public transit or off-peak travel. Although traffic calming would likely increase safety and livability at a neighborhood level, the mayor asserts that it does little to reduce regional traffic volume, so she favors congestion pricing for its reduction of carbon emissions and efficient management of large-scale urban gridlock.
Select Strengthen for the statement that would, if true, most strengthen the mayor’s position, and select Weaken for the statement that would, if true, most weaken the mayor’s position. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Select Strengthen for the statement that would, if true, most strengthen the mayor’s position, and select Weaken for the statement that would, if true, most weaken the mayor’s position. Make only two selections, one in each column.
| Strengthen | Weaken | |
| Data from similar cities shows that over 80 percent of urban air pollution originates from regional commuters, and that implementing congestion pricing significantly reduces this pollution and decreases transit times by encouraging commuting during non-peak hours and carpooling. | ||
| Building more lanes on major routes within a city often leads to "induced demand," in which more people choose to drive, ultimately increasing total carbon emissions despite the smoother traffic flow. | ||
| Gridlock and carbon emissions are related problems, because idling cars in heavy gridlock produce significantly more localized pollutants. | ||
| The city council’s position is that the immediate safety of pedestrians and cyclists in City C is more important than incremental reduction of urban gridlock and carbon emissions, even though reduction of emissions may protect global health and future generations. | ||
| Congestion pricing frequently leads to “traffic displacement,” in which drivers avoid paying the fee to enter high-traffic zones by cutting through residential side streets, increasing both local gridlock and the risk of accidents in neighborhoods. |
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
Strengthen: Data from similar cities shows that over 80 percent of urban air pollution originates from regional commuters, and that implementing congestion pricing significantly reduces this pollution and decreases transit times by encouraging commuting during non-peak hours and carpooling.
Weaken: Congestion pricing frequently leads to “traffic displacement,” in which drivers avoid paying the fee to enter high-traffic zones by cutting through residential side streets, increasing both local gridlock and the risk of accidents in neighborhoods.
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15 Jul 2026, 09:00
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Manhattan Prep Official Explanation
City C is considering two urban planning concepts for traffic management: traffic calming and congestion pricing. Traffic calming involves physical design changes to streets, such as speed bumps, roundabouts, and curb extensions, that are intended to slow vehicles and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. In contrast, congestion pricing is a market-based strategy that charges drivers a fee to enter high-traffic zones during peak hours, aiming to reduce the total volume of cars by incentivizing the use of public transit or off-peak travel. Although traffic calming would likely increase safety and livability at a neighborhood level, the mayor asserts that it does little to reduce regional traffic volume, so she favors congestion pricing for its reduction of carbon emissions and efficient management of large-scale urban gridlock.
Select Strengthen for the statement that would, if true, most strengthen the mayor’s position, and select Weaken for the statement that would, if true, most weaken the mayor’s position. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Step 1: Understand the Prompt and Question
Glance at the answer choices. The sentences in the answers typically signal a Verbal question. Further, the wording if true, most strengthen and if true, most weaken in the question stem indicates that this is a Verbal question, specifically a Strengthen/Weaken question.
First, deconstruct the argument / map out the constraints on your scratch paper:
MAP
Two plans for traffic: Traffic calming (TC) or congestion pricing (CP)
TC = physical street design, goal = slow cars down, result = incr local safety
CP = market fees ($$) for peak hours, goal = reduce number of cars, result = decr gridlock/emissions
TC good for neighborhoods, but fails at regional volume. CP reduces traffic volume.
Mayor: City should do CP.
Step 2: Plan your Approach
On Strengthen/Weaken questions, the correct answers should provide evidence to support or undermine an assumption made in the argument. In this case, the mayor assumes that traffic volume is the problem to solve, rather than traffic speed. She also assumes that the suggested solution to traffic volume, congestion pricing, will be successful.
Step 3: Solve the Problem
(A) CORRECT FOR FIRST COLUMN. This choice provides evidence that the mayor’s diagnosis of the problem is accurate (confirming the primary source of pollution) and that her proposed solution is effective at resolving it. By showing that congestion pricing successfully shifts drivers’ behavior, it validates both her logic and her policy choice.
(B) This choice discusses a third concept (building more lanes) that is not part of the mayor's proposed strategy of congestion pricing. The statement does not indicate whether congestion pricing also suffers from induced demand or whether congestion pricing is the solution to it.
(C) This is a neutral factual statement that explains the relationship between gridlock and pollution without favoring one policy over the other.
(D) This statement shows that the city council has a different priority (increasing safety for pedestrians and cyclists) than the mayor does (reducing emissions). However, this choice only identifies an opposing view; it neither strengthens nor weakens the mayor’s logic about the need for or efficacy of congestion pricing.
(E) CORRECT FOR SECOND COLUMN. This statement links the mayor’s preferred solution (congestion pricing) to traffic displacement, which may inadvertently cause some of the very problems the mayor seeks to solve. It indicates that instead of reducing gridlock, the policy might simply move the congestion into residential neighborhoods and increase the risk of local accidents in the process.
GMAT-Club-Forum-goh5y0w4.png [ 82.92 KiB | Viewed 1459 times ]
City C is considering two urban planning concepts for traffic management: traffic calming and congestion pricing. Traffic calming involves physical design changes to streets, such as speed bumps, roundabouts, and curb extensions, that are intended to slow vehicles and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. In contrast, congestion pricing is a market-based strategy that charges drivers a fee to enter high-traffic zones during peak hours, aiming to reduce the total volume of cars by incentivizing the use of public transit or off-peak travel. Although traffic calming would likely increase safety and livability at a neighborhood level, the mayor asserts that it does little to reduce regional traffic volume, so she favors congestion pricing for its reduction of carbon emissions and efficient management of large-scale urban gridlock.
Select Strengthen for the statement that would, if true, most strengthen the mayor’s position, and select Weaken for the statement that would, if true, most weaken the mayor’s position. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Step 1: Understand the Prompt and Question
Glance at the answer choices. The sentences in the answers typically signal a Verbal question. Further, the wording if true, most strengthen and if true, most weaken in the question stem indicates that this is a Verbal question, specifically a Strengthen/Weaken question.
First, deconstruct the argument / map out the constraints on your scratch paper:
MAP
Two plans for traffic: Traffic calming (TC) or congestion pricing (CP)
TC = physical street design, goal = slow cars down, result = incr local safety
CP = market fees ($$) for peak hours, goal = reduce number of cars, result = decr gridlock/emissions
TC good for neighborhoods, but fails at regional volume. CP reduces traffic volume.
Mayor: City should do CP.
Step 2: Plan your Approach
On Strengthen/Weaken questions, the correct answers should provide evidence to support or undermine an assumption made in the argument. In this case, the mayor assumes that traffic volume is the problem to solve, rather than traffic speed. She also assumes that the suggested solution to traffic volume, congestion pricing, will be successful.
Step 3: Solve the Problem
(A) CORRECT FOR FIRST COLUMN. This choice provides evidence that the mayor’s diagnosis of the problem is accurate (confirming the primary source of pollution) and that her proposed solution is effective at resolving it. By showing that congestion pricing successfully shifts drivers’ behavior, it validates both her logic and her policy choice.
(B) This choice discusses a third concept (building more lanes) that is not part of the mayor's proposed strategy of congestion pricing. The statement does not indicate whether congestion pricing also suffers from induced demand or whether congestion pricing is the solution to it.
(C) This is a neutral factual statement that explains the relationship between gridlock and pollution without favoring one policy over the other.
(D) This statement shows that the city council has a different priority (increasing safety for pedestrians and cyclists) than the mayor does (reducing emissions). However, this choice only identifies an opposing view; it neither strengthens nor weakens the mayor’s logic about the need for or efficacy of congestion pricing.
(E) CORRECT FOR SECOND COLUMN. This statement links the mayor’s preferred solution (congestion pricing) to traffic displacement, which may inadvertently cause some of the very problems the mayor seeks to solve. It indicates that instead of reducing gridlock, the policy might simply move the congestion into residential neighborhoods and increase the risk of local accidents in the process.
Attachment:
GMAT-Club-Forum-goh5y0w4.png [ 82.92 KiB | Viewed 1459 times ]
General Discussion
15 Jul 2026, 08:09
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weaken - 5th statement - Mayor favors Congestion traffic, only point 5 suggests that Congestion traffic isn't really helping, more over it is causing more trouble weakening her choice
Strengthen - 1st statement - again Mayor favors Congestion traffic as shown conclusion, Point 1 talks about Congestion traffic and is supporting it
Strengthen - 1st statement - again Mayor favors Congestion traffic as shown conclusion, Point 1 talks about Congestion traffic and is supporting it
