Traffic Congestion: It's Getting Worse
 |
By Les Jackson
AIADA Contributing
Editor
The American public doesn’t universally agree
on many subjects, but everyone agrees that traffic is badly congested
nearly everywhere in the U.S. Commuters are increasingly frustrated and
anxious, an emotional condition that leads to road rage, tailgating and
aggressive driving. Traffic congestion extends over longer periods of time
each day, making it difficult to plan trips around known bottlenecks.
Everyone says the same thing: "I don’t have any time anymore." But is
there any solution in sight?
Not really, but traffic planners are well aware
of the problem. They note that congestion levels have steadily increased
since 1982 and that those areas now classified as "medium-congestion" will,
by 2013, have the same congestion as today’s "heavy" areas. Very few
additional highways are being planned due to budget and environmental
challenges and existing roads and bridges are deteriorating. Less than half
the roadway lanes needed to maintain a constant congestion level have been
added since 1982.
Here are some disturbing
facts:
- Areas with populations over 3 million will see
minimum delays per traveler of 38 hours each year by 2013. Areas over 1
million will see delays of between 10 and 35 hours each year. Small areas
(less than 500,000) will see delays of up to 25 hours each
year.
- In 2003, the wasted time and fuel due to
congestion cost the
Most urban planners are studying a range of
strategies including road widening, carpools and public transportation.
None of these constitutes a single solution to the problem and it is
doubtful that necessary gains can be made in either or all of these areas.
For instance, to achieve a constant level of congestion 3 to 4 percent of
all passenger vehicles on the road would have to become carpool vehicles.
To accomplish the same effect through public transportation, existing
transit systems would need to increase in size by one third. Neither of
these is likely to happen. Major financial hurdles would have to be
overcome to enlarge the public transportation system and significant
cultural changes would be necessary to convince the public to dramatically
increase carpooling.
While all this leads to a grim outlook, there
are some ideas that are being pursued to cumulatively address the
situation. The approaches currently seen as promising include: adding
capacity; increasing the efficiency of the existing system; managing
construction and maintenance; managing demand; and, alternatives to vehicle
trips.
The last of these - delaying the time or
avoiding the trip altogether - is the easiest and least expensive to
accomplish. Many employers offer flexible work schedules to allow workers
to arrive and leave outside of peak traffic periods. Still, others offer
telecommuting options wherein employees can work from home by computer.
There is significant reluctance on the part of employers to offer full-time
telecommuting options, but over time these biases should change as systems
to monitor activities arrive on the scene.
For those who must be at the office full-time
there are some emerging "electronic" solutions for getting through traffic.
Most metropolitan areas post the highways with signs indicating specific
problems on a particular route and real-time traffic updates by tuning to
AM radio stations. XM Satellite radio began offering real-time traffic
updates on vehicle NAV systems last year. The technology shows where there
are slowdowns on the individual’s route, how much additional time the
trip will take and any alternate routes to get around the tie-up. The
program is offered in several major metropolitan areas and is expanding
across the country.
Adding capacity is the historic "cure" for
traffic congestion, but doing so by building additional roadways is fast
becoming a non-option. Capacity can be added on existing roadways in other
ways, however. This can be accomplished by squeezing more traffic lanes
into existing space, grade separations, better intersection designs,
overpasses and carpool lanes. The British roundabout (traffic circle) is
proving to be a great solution for single-lane roadways and now these
clever devices are gradually being accepted all over the
Managing demand is a bit more challenging
because people don’t want to change their habits or become
inconvenienced. Some tools being used to manage demand are: better
management of secondary-street access, the addition of cycle and pedestrian
lanes, parking limitations and other "quality-of-life" techniques such as
speed humps and one-way street designations.
Increasing the efficiency of the system is
difficult, but very clever ideas have emerged over the past decade. Entry
ramp metering, traffic signal timing, special event management, electronic
toll collection, changeable lane direction and incident management (pushing
damaged vehicles out of the traffic lanes while police take statements and
file reports) all help to keep the flow at a maximum. And using some or all
of these techniques actually has resulted in fewer
crashes.
Managing construction and maintenance projects
so that through-traffic isn’t significantly reduced is very hard to
accomplish. It has been described as the equivalent of "re-carpeting the
dance floor during the prom," by construction experts. Various techniques
have been adopted to help in these projects, from contractor incentives to
overnight work schedules.
One of the most controversial solutions to
traffic congestion is the "fee for service" approach, in which those
commuters who place a higher value on their time can pay a higher toll to
use uncrowded lanes. Proponents argue that price is used to regulate demand
for everything from telephones to food to theater seats, so why not charge
what the market will bear to those who can afford it? Those against the
concept argue that people less fortunate will be forced to spend more money
on fuel and maintenance.
What can individuals do? Here are a number of
effective steps that every driver can take:
- Don’t leave late and expect to make up for
lost time on the road. Always allow an extra 15 minutes for your
trip.
- Distractions lead to mistakes, and mistakes lead
to hostility, so don’t talk on the cell phone or eat or try to catch
up on paperwork while you drive.
- The more you relax the easier the trip will be.
So, take your favorite tunes with you and use that sound
system.
- Speeding actually causes a "wave effect,"
wherein traffic stops and moves like a toy Slinky. Keep the flow
constant.
- Know the territory and alternate routes. Carry
maps with you or become an expert on that NAV
system.
- Ask your employer to let you try telecommuting
for some specific period. If it works out, try to
extend.
- Use public transportation occasionally. The
change of habit alone helps keep your sanity.
