Increasing traffic congestion is becoming a serious national problem. It wastes gasoline, puts stress on engines, clutches, transmissions, brakes, radiators and cooling systems, and air-conditioning units. It adds to commuting and vacation stresses, rear-end accidents, road rage, tempers, and even murders in some extreme incidents. It can block and impede emergency vehicles from reaching their destination quickly. It can increase insurance premiums in some areas. It has caused many neighborhoods to erect "traffic-calming" devices and block access to thei neighborhoods....only making worse on the main roads. Obviously, it makes it MUCH harder to learn to drive, also....you literally have to look EVERYWHERE at once.
I myself live smack in the middle of the second-most traffic-congested area in the country....the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore metroplex......second only to Southern California. Beltway traffic, especially, is horrendous here...for several reasons.

We all know the reasons WHY traffic is so bad today in so many areas.....suburban growth, illegals entering the country and getting cars, affluence allowing more and more people the have cars, inadequate road networks, etc.....

What, in your opinions, are the best ways to deal with increasing congestion?

I'll start off by saying that I think we need to start taking down many of the barricades, speed bumps, 4-way stops, DO NOT ENTER signs, ONE WAY signs, and other impediments on the residential streets and allow traffic to use ALL of the roads we got instead of just some. We ALL pay taxes to use the roads, yet somehow certain neighborhods think that they can somehow live in a vaccum and pretend that traffic doesn't exist. And everybody ELSE suffers because THEIR streets remain unused. This would not be a problem is only a few neighborhoods did it, but when one neighborhood succeeds in blocking their streets off, and then the NEXT one does also, and then the NEXT one does also...well, you get the picture. Soon you are stuck....and there is no way out of it.
So...my first solution would be to open up the streets back up that we GOT.....THEN we can think about building more.

I also do my part by using the transportation subsidy the Federal Government gives me every month....saving miles and wear on my car....so I can use my car for ME, not my job.

So....how would you CL members deal with this serious....and growing.....problem?

 

1. People can't drive. Traffic would flow a lot better if people didn't brake for no reason in the fast lane (or any lane). People don't use signals, people tailgate, etc. All this makes for bad traffic
2. People need to drive. Get off the damn phone, no books, no food, DRIVE. This is serious. It is life and death out there.
3. More HOV/Hybrid/even good gas mileage lanes. These lanes encourage people to ride together.
4. Better public transportation. In Atlanta, every county thinks they are to damn uppity for mass transit. These feeble minded fools think mass transit=crime!!! During the Olympics here, when EVERYONE took the Marta, there was NO TRAFFIC. It was beautiful. So people CAN take mass transit. They just REFUSE to.
5. Better built cities. Part of the problem is affordable housing is 900miles away from peoples jobs. If people want a house, they have to drive. Not sure how to solve this problem.
6. Have ordinary citizens on transportation boards. These boards are made up with people that have 6 cars (rich) have a huge house 500 miles away from everyone. They know NOTHING about traffic. Then their best friend Mr. DEVELOPER asks for roads and favors. Its a mess.
7. Taxes on SUVs. Sorry but I can't see a thing. No one can. It is frustrating trying to drive a car and trying to see around you when you can't. These 10mpg dinasours need to go. WHY DOES ANYONE NEED A DAMN HUMMER??? Between 18wheelers and SUVs I can't see a flaming thing on the road.

 

get a BBJ or Gulfstream V?

seriously, i think 65 MPH speed limit should be updated.

 

I agree with many of your comments......but the problem with some mass transit systems.....especially the local Metro D.C. subway here....is that THEY are just as overcrowded now as the damn roads....with no real room to expand.
I think the real problem is just TOO MANY people ( and too much development ) in TOO FEW areas.
We have huge areas of the country that have literally NOTHING.....and huge areas where people and cars are crammed like sardines. and you can't even breathe. Development....and traffic....needs to be moved into areas that NEED it.

 

I'm with you 100% here. Just the other day, I saw this lady reading a damn BOOK while she was driving! I made sure I stayed far far behind her.

I think NYC has one of the best public transportation system out there. During morning rush hour, trains come every 3 - 5 minute for me (but I still can't get a seat ).

I would rather stand 1 hr 15 minutes on a train (which I do EVERY SINGLE day) in the mornong than take the car and deal with the same 1hr 15minute commute. Driving in the morning is stressful. It's almost cut-throat. I feel tired & exhausted by the time I get in the office when I drive. At least on the train I can sleep (yes, I have perfected the art of sleeping while standing up).

Mmarshall, I really don't think DC/Baltimore traffic is as bad as NYC traffic during rush hour. I have lots of family in the Baltimore area (Ellicott City) and DC (Silversprings) area. Their commute is not even close to what I have to go through.

I don't think illegals are the problem either. I think the cities are just getting overcrowded. Maybe I'm just naive, but if you're illegal, how can you drive? I personally know someone who just got deported for being illegally in the country. This person's visa expired and he was still in the country illegally. But once you get stopped by a cop, bye bye.

 

I love these 4 .
For #1 and 7: give a small/petite female who can't drive, in a gi-normous SUV, now give her a freakin' cell phone!

Affordable houses are getting farther away, meaning people have to commute farther

Public transportation-when we were in HOng Kong, the subway was awesome! Didn't have to drive anywhere. It was fairly clean and cheap. I guess it's kinda hard to compare b/c HK is much smaller than the major states .

 

Why do people do that?

It always happen. I mean, I'm stuck behind a guy in the middle lane going the speed limit and there's no one in front of him. There's like 10 car spaces in front of the guy and he taps the brakes all the time. Is there a reason for that??? What's the logic? Can anyone think of a logically reason behind that?

They tap their brakes, then they accelerate, then tap the brakes again. I'm stuck behind him (I never tailgate someone like that....if they're dumb enough to do that, anything can happen), and cars are passing on both the left & right lane. I really don't want to gun it and fly out aggressively. The last thing I want is to cause an accident because of this moron.

 

Some people drive the speed limit because it is precisely that....the LIMIT. ...and also because they don't want tickets.

 

I fully understand that concept. However, there are also times when traffic is moving slower than the limit.....and the person in front of me does the same thing. He leaves about 10 car spaces in front of him and taps the brake every so often.

 

The best thing to do to start decreasing congestion and traffic is creating neighborhoods where people don't have to drive to do their necessary errands.... grocery store, drug store etc and encourages them to walk. Less signs would also help.

 

What they really need to do is reduce the number of drivers on the road by being more serious about traffic punishment, and raising the standards for getting and keeping a license. They will never be able to add enough roads or expand enough lanes. Turn every lane into a carpool lane. Among which is the DMV really needs to test for people's ability to drive a car as opposed to operating one.

 

You dont live in southern california...

there are TONS of illegal immigrants driving down here, no joke. Anytime i go to south south San Diego, i see illegal immigrants driving cars.

On a further note, a few months ago, there was a big accident in orange county caused by a semi full of produce from mexico driven by a mexican national WITHOUT a trucking license. There's so many stupid stupid people out there driving. AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

In addition, I also think the fact that there are a LOT of OLD people on the road doesn't help either. MOST, not all old people are REALLY bad drivers but nothing is done about them because they make up the largest voting population. I really dont like old people driving. I mean REALLY. They rarely signal, they brake at the slightest downhill, they also love to drive with high beams on a night. I wish they would all just take public transportation or something.

 

Invent flying cars

 

We need to train people to understand traffic flow and what can be done to increase it. There are too many lights that are incorrectly timed, intersections that need turn lanes that don't have them, and people need to be cognizant of the concept of "keeping up with traffic". These would help to minimize many of the problems.

Where I live we don't have too many neighborhoods that are closed to general traffic. Regardless of which direction I travel I usually have a couple of different options re: my route. Which I love.

I'm sure many of us can think of lights that are timed by idiots. I have been trying to find someplace at the DOT where I can send suggestions re: traffic signals and problems with certain intersections. I understand that it is impossible to time each and every light perfectly, but you can get certain sections of them to line up. I have found that by speeding somewhere between 15 and 20 over you can make the next light (see it pays to speed...LOL!). Yeah yeah, so I do 60-65 in a 45, big deal, get yourself a Valentine or a Passport and check out how many lights you start making. No you can't usually do this during rush hour, but at other times of the day it works great. The problem is, that if you do 45 in a 45, you usually get stopped by the next light. This encourages speeding, it doesn't reduce it.

In addition, there is always construction going on someplace that doesn't need it, while someplace that does need construction is ignored. Some municipalities will do construction just to spend the capital improvement funds they have because if they don't use them, they usually lose them. This creates construction just for the sake of spending money and little thought is given to 'what is the best use of these funds".

And as others said earlier, there are some who will never understand that they need to "keep up with traffic" even if people are going over the limit. But they think, oh they won't get caught but the cop will stop me, that is so stupid! yes, it does happen, but the overwhelming majority of the time this is not the case.

I have driven in most major metropolitan areas and am quite familiar with many cities (Atlanta, Boston, NY, Chicago, Denver, LA, San Diego, Dallas, St Louis, Tampa, Miami-Ft Laud-WPB, Houston, New Orleans, Detroit, and a few others) during rush hour. A lot of it is the knack for being in the right lane and using selective lane changes. Granted many would consider me an aggressive driver (not rude) but I also find that many times I find I can pass more cars doing 20 than I can doing 90. Being in the proper lane can save you tons of time even if you can't speed.

 

So true....this would make driving more pleasurable at least.

But no matter what we need to do, we won't be able to do anything to alleviate this congestion problem. Yes, it is happening everywhere.
In general, I think we all overlook driving a bit. We think it’s a convenience, an excuse to be lazy....LoL….I am guilty of this from time to time.
We should use mass transportation whenever possible. But in California, it's almost a necessity to drive. I've realized this awhile ago, so I'll just roll along and take the punches. Screw traffic, I'll just turn up the music....it seems to calm me down....

What they really need to do though, is fixing or re-paving the darn roads and highways. We drive way too much to have jacked up streets. Give us at least that much. Anyone driving in Southern California will know what I’m talking about. The street in front my house hasn't been paved in the last 18 years. I fear for new Volk's when they arrive soon.

As for the SUV, I agree with 1Sick. Use one if you really have to – please. I can’t justify driving a Hummer when I could be driving a Tahoe. Plus, they're ugly and massive.