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New Innovations and Ideas: What can be done about traffic congestion?

Civitas Staff  |  January 25, 2008

TELECOMMUTING INCENTIVES – States like Virginia, Arizona and Georgia offer companies incentives to let their employees work from home at least one day per week. According to Jane Anderson, director of the Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education, as many as 18 million Americans telecommute. And that number is growing. In fact, says transportation analyst Ted Balaker, “Telecommuters outnumber mass transit commuters in a majority (27) of the 50 most populous U.S. cities.” In North Carolina, while the state does not offer incentives, many companies in Research Triangle Park encourage telecommuting.

TRAFFIC SIGNAL OPTIMIZATION – Upgrading traffic signals is one of the best ways to reduce congestion. Newer traffic signals that can be programmed to adjust to varying traffic periods can improve traffic flow. In a 1994 study, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the benefits of signal optimization include reducing “accidents, congestion, travel time, fuel consumption, and air pollutants.” Some optimization has been done in North Carolina. For example, the 2001 budget bill designated $45 million of the cash balance in the Highway Trust Fund to upgrade traffic signals.

IMPROVED INCIDENT MANAGEMENT – According to the Federal Highway Administration, traffic accidents are responsible for 25 percent of traffic congestion. Clearing roadways of accidents quickly and safely should remain a priority for North Carolina, whose IMAP patrols already scout major arteries. In Atlanta, the introduction of new comprehensive incident management systems reduced maximum cleanup times (between verification and clearance) from 6.2 hours to 1.5 hours during the first three weeks of service.

INTERsECTION CHANNELIZATION – A lot of congestion can be reduced simply by redesigning intersections (a process called “channelization”). Channelization entails giving drivers adequate turning radii, better medians, and upgraded road alignments. But perhaps the single most important channelization measure is simply to improve left turn capacity.

BETTER BUS RAPID TRANSIT – As compared to light rail, for example, improvements in bus rapid transit are superior in almost every way. According to the John Locke Foundation, buses offer “greater flexibility, faster operating speeds, greater service reliability, increased comfort, rapid boarding, lower capital costs, and energy efficiency – all at lower costs.”

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