After reading Willaim R. Black's Sustainable Transportation: Problems and Solutions chapter 3 on sustainable transportation planning I decided to do a little research and see who was doing what. I found throughout my research that San Francisco runs its traffic planning by one rule that many planners do not, the rule of transit priority. It is a very simple concept that can mean a lot. Simply put, the new traffic plans must set public transit and other forms of traffic before personal automobiles. As discussed in this blog post, the city is currently installing transit priority traffic lights that use GPS systems located in transit buses to keep the lights green for buses. This decreases both travel time for those using the transit system and decreases the amount of environmental damage done by idling buses.
I think that this is a brilliant idea. I personally believe that many people do not use public transportation because it takes too long to the desired destination because of the frequent stops and ability for large buses to get stuck in traffic. Hopefully, decreased travel time will entice more people to use the public transit buses which should decrease traffic overall as there would be less people using their cars.
What do you guys think?
I think that this is a brilliant idea. I personally believe that many people do not use public transportation because it takes too long to the desired destination because of the frequent stops and ability for large buses to get stuck in traffic. Hopefully, decreased travel time will entice more people to use the public transit buses which should decrease traffic overall as there would be less people using their cars.
What do you guys think?
Good points, but such a system could also increase pollution if it doesn't remove enough cars from the road to offset emissions from cars being idled at a red light. It makes an interesting question of priorities. Should the traffic lights run so that traffic moves as quickly and efficiently as possible, or should they be used to coerce people into public transit?
ReplyDeleteAvi
That is a very interesting question Avi and I just as perplexed as you. Maybe traffic signals should be designed to give buses or any other form of public transport priority. This could lead to an increase of transit riders which may lead to less cars on the road. That is the overall goal of making transportation sustainable right? Removing cars on the roads leads to less congestion and less emissions.
ReplyDeleteLiving in New York City for eighteen years I know what bus lines to take and not to take. Some buses are so slow because of congestion that it is practically faster to walk. Having dedicated bus lanes and prioritizing are traffic signals would give me an incentive to take the bus.