
To increase the use of alternative transportation methods, cities and infrastructure planners have recognized the importance of providing the necessary infrastructure to ensure these methods are safe and efficient. Alternative Transportation Infrastructure However, reducing the overall number of vehicles on the road by providing other options can reduce the potential for congestion.
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Of course, there will always be drivers who require or choose to drive their own vehicles. By exchanging a few open roadway lanes for bus lanes, carpool lanes, or even sidewalks, a civil engineer’s design can reduce the overall number of vehicles on the road, as some potential drivers may opt for another form of transportation that’s cheaper or better fits their lifestyle. This allows all streets to share the load of traffic and reduces the number of times drivers wait in it.Īnother solution is to reduce the number of lanes available to private vehicles, in favor of public transportation. When a civil engineer’s design offers alternative routes to the same destination, this can help reduce the number of vehicles in high-traffic areas. One of the easiest ways to improve traffic congestion is to remove the issue of congestion arising from too many people trying to travel at once on any given road. Here are a few more details on some of these traffic congestion solutions. Investment in public transportation can expand those options even further. Alternate transportation infrastructure, such as bus lanes, bike lanes, and sidewalks, can provide travel options outside private vehicles. More innovative road design can help direct the overflow of drivers onto side roads, reducing the chance of traffic congestion. Traffic Congestion Solutionsĭespite the many causes of roadway congestion, civil engineers have tools to reduce its effects and, in some cases, prevent it.

It may discourage new businesses and potential residents from moving to the area, for fear of constant traffic. High congestion can also influence the public’s perception of a community. Traffic congestion can cause compounding issues for delivery drivers and the supply chain, slowing the restocking of food and other essentials to communities that don’t have many local sources. Traffic creates more problems than just commuting delays. One cause of traffic congestion can lead to another, such as when the onset of challenging weather for road travel generates a rise in traffic as drivers rush home. In many cases, multiple factors can occur at once. Primary causes of traffic congestion include the following, according to USDOT: Earning an advanced engineering degree, such as a Master of Science in Civil Engineering, can prepare individuals to design alternatives to city highways that use developing transportation methods and innovate on current road systems plagued with traffic congestion Traffic Problems However, well-researched and proven solutions to traffic congestion problems exist. By prioritizing a monolithic route and disincentivizing diverse roads and travel methods, engineers have unintentionally added to city congestion.

Many ways that city and roadway engineers approached road design in the past haven’t proven effective at limiting traffic congestion, such as the move to expand city highways. built more than 870,000 lane miles of highway, yet pre-COVID-19 congestion was worse than it was in the early 1980s. The USDOT found that between 19, the U.S. While traffic congestion prevention has advanced over the past few decades, many cities still struggle to deal with it effectively. “By 2001, that figure had shot to 26 hours of delay per year, and the most severely congested periods of the day - once known as the ‘rush hour’ - stretched to cover nearly six hours of each day … with the average ‘rush hour’ trip taking nearly 40 percent longer than the same trip at other times of the day.” “In 1982, the average person living in one of the country’s 75 largest cities faced seven hours of travel delay per year,” the report states.

in recent decades, according to a 2020 report from the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) in partnership with the U.S. The severity of traffic congestion has increased in the U.S.
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