Traffic Congestion Getting Worse In The Big Cities
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Traffic Congestion is when traffic volume is more than the roads can handle, thereby increasing how long is takes for people to get to their destinations and increases their gas consumption because... |
Traffic Congestion is when traffic volume is more than the roads can handle, thereby increasing how long is takes for people to get to their destinations and increases their gas consumption because they’re just idling, waiting in traffic.
A 2001 study by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M shows that traffic congestion is getting worse. Back in 1982, traffic congestion was 4.5 hours a day. By 2001, it had risen to seven hours a day.
The top five most congested metropolitan areas in America are:
* Los Angeles
* Washington, D.C.
* Miami
* Chicago
* San Francisco
According to this study, the 75 largest cities in America experienced enough delays to cost 5.7 billion dollars of wasted fuel. This averages out to approximately $520 a person a year.
One of the ways that the federal government is trying to reduce congestion is to encourage the use of carpools and vanpools. One of the ways they’ll do this through the use of “high occupancy vehicle” lanes. Around Washington D.C., most highways have one lane that you can only drive in if you have 2 or more and sometimes 3 or more people in the car with you.
The personal benefit to you besides getting to work faster because you’re in the HOV is that you can share your transportation costs. Worried about getting stuck with some weirdo? Start out easy. Maybe you and your spouse or another family member could ride in together. Maybe you have a neighbor whom you get a long with pretty good? Still worried about that? Exchange your anxiety with a little flexibility. Don’t ride in together everyday. Maybe you could take turns once a week riding together.
If you’re more adventurous, join a van pool. There are websites on line that will help you hook up with either existing van pools or other people who want to be in a vanpool as well.
Another idea to avoid congestion is to avoid the rush hour traffic. Ironically and not in a good way, “rush hour” is mislabeled. It should be called something like “morning congestion” and “evening congestion” as both bottlenecks last more than hour long.
In a seemingly hypocritical move, some large cities are seeking to use a “pay as you go” program, which lets solo drivers drive in the HOV lanes as long as they pay for the use. The ideas behind this is that the HOV lanes are underutilized and the local government could make additional money as well as help congestion by allowing people to drive in the HOV lane (as long as the HOV lane isn’t already filled to capacity). San Diego has made about $2 million dollars a year, which they’ll turn around and invest in public transportation. Other state governments are considering implementing similar programs.
Congestion isn’t always due to people going to and from work. A study by Oak Ridge Laboratory published in May 2002 shows that work zones cause 24% of nonrecurring congestion nation-wide. As a reaction, Americans are very interested in seeing repairs made during the night or other non-rush hour times, having road made with more durable materials and seeing how repairs can be made more quickly.
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