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Traffic Congestion & its Management (Causes (Poor quality of roads…
Traffic Congestion & its Management
Causes
Poor quality of roads
poorly maintained roads, unpaved w/ potholes. common in LDCs e.g. Kolkata, India. worse during monsoons. H2O in potholes ("hidden")-> accidents
character of road network: many intersections or multiple lanes reduced (creates bottlenecks that impede traffic flow)
Same priorities for all modes of transport
all vehicles share same roads. a simple blockage (e.g. bus stopping @ stops) can hold up other vehicles e.g. Kolkata. But in Curitiba, Brazil, separate lanes for buses & cars.
Public transport not attractive
use of public transport conc. in morning & evening rush hours-> always insufficient cap. to provide comfortable travel then. long wait times, crowding etc. e.g. Tokyo's 'pushers'
Poor traffic signals
no road signs or in Dhaka, Bangladesh, traffic signals which often fail to work. not dynamic enough to adapt to diff. traffic vol.s e.g. during rush hours, signals not timed to allow cars to stop less often
cash-based tolls e.g. M'sia, Thai (sometimes collected manually) vehicles have to stop
High population growth
(esp LDCs) due to high natural increase & rural-urban migration. raises DD on public transport (overcrowded, uncomfortable) so encourage those who can afford it to buy private cars
Road obstructions
accidents, construction & roadworks-> road closures/need vehicles to slow down. weather e.g. floods
Insufficient road capacities
road cap: max traffic flow on given road using all avail. lanes
increasing no. of use of vehicles e.g. in 2014, 1.2B vehicles on road. caused traffic speeds to fall e.g. Bangkok: as low as 3km/h, when avg. human walking speed is 5km/h
Drivers looking for parking spaces
up to 30% of traffic in cities caused by drivers looking for cheaper and/or avail. parking spaces. since x provide parking space for all, illegal parking occurs-> impedes traffic.
Impacts
Social
in USA, increasing disconnect btw indiv & community: every 10 mins spent commuting=10% fewer social connections
no. of accidents greater. victims are mostly pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists (generally low Y grps), not car occupants-> costs borne disproportionately
Environmental
high noise lvls. may be intensified by surrounding high rise (canyon effect)
slow speeds-> emission of high lvls of CO2, CO, NOx-> photochemical smog + air pollution-> health prob.s
e.g. Delhi: PM2.5 lvls >10x WHO's safe limit-> higher rates of bronchitis, lung cancer
Economic
10 most congested cities in USA (LA, NYC) waste >$121B in time & fuel every year
wasted time for passengers & motorists-> econ cost attached to it. likely to lose new investment for cities w/ serious congestion
congestion in 4 metro cities (Mumbai, Kolkata) costs India $21B annually
vibration caused by traffic loads-> foundation prob.s for older roads-> higher maintenance costs
Responses
Alternative Modes of Transport
cycling cities: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Rio de Janeiro, Taipei (YouBike: monthly avg 2M rides)
SG slower to latch on: need sufficient & proper cycling infra put in place e.g. overhead bridges need ramps, if not have to carry bikes. depends on ppl to make lifestyle changes
Non-transport Initiatives
flexible work hours (applied widely in Germany)
staggered work hours
thru promoting alt. work schedules:
four day (compressed) work week
job sharing/part time work
advances in telecomm tech allows work from home, reduces need for some trips e.g. no. of telecommuters in Japan grown to 9-14M in 2010, savings up to 25% of annual spending on public transport
limitations: cannot be offered to everyone e.g. not all can work from home, due to nature of job. productivity is an issue as work would be done w/o supervision
Improve Public Transport
low fares for poor to afford
frequent svc w/ enough vehicles operating
public transport needs to provide comparable svc thru:
routes that reflect 'desire lines' w/ extensive coverage (no need to change many times to get to destination, near transit stop)
increase bus speeds e.g. thru more/separate bus lanes
co-ordinated multimodal one-ticket system e.g. EZ-link card
e.g. HK: MTR (Mass Transit Railway), buses & trams-> 80% daily trips. coped well despite rapid influx of visitors
limitations: requires constant financial & political commitment
Restrict Private Transport
limitations: ex (in SG, each ERP gantry costs $1M. 93 gantries in total). equity issues (discriminate lower Y car owners)
COE: quota license received from successful winning bid in an auction which grants legal right of holder to register, own & use a vehicle in SG for 10 years
road pricing e.g. ERP gantries in SG (tech makes it possible to collect charges w/o interrupting traffic)
e.g. SG: kept speeds above 45km/h on expressway. before ERP, speed was 36kmh along East Coast Parkway
Intro
greatest severity in & around major employment nodes (CBD) during morning & afternoon peaks
congestion is related to inefficiencies within traffic flow system and/or DD placed on system
Traffic congestion results when there are too many vehicles for the avail. road space
Mobility: ability to move btw diff activity sites
Accessibility: ease w/ which one location may be reached from another
(depends on mobility)