Exactly! This is also related to the The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: building new roads just allows people drive more. (See Duranton and Turner.)
You can view this as an equilibrium. People will prefer uncongested roads until they become congested.
Surprising, yet simple when it's pointed out.
Insufficient roads, poor zoning, etc all add up into a complex whole. But, roads reduce the value of some peoples property which is why you get such strong opposition.
PS: Importantly, congestion has a cost not just for the average commute but the number of hours in the day that are congested.
Average commute time is not the desired metric here, see Duranton and Turner[1].
[1]: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/Faculty/Matthew_T...
Not only that: it allows more people to drive.
I'm not the first to say this: people will choose to drive into congested agglomeration as long as the alternative (public transport) yields a longer door-to-door time.