I read with interest Andrew Garber's article in the Seattle Times, January 31, 2008, "Bill adds no relief, just a few words, to road congestion." I commute in my car every day about 30 miles each way in the Seattle area, and I often find myself thinking about how to relieve traffic congestion. I have noticed that the problem only seems to get worse with no end in sight. With Democrats just changing the wording on a bill, and Republicans just looking for more lanes and roads (which will take years and make things worse during construction if it can even be done at all), it is clear that there aren't any solutions on the table that will really make much of a difference.
Then during my commute one day I heard the idea about "speed vs. throughput" in an interview with a traffic scientist. It made sense to me. When we all try to go fast on the highway during commute hours, the traffic gets rough and throughput goes way down. If we all slowed down together and went a smooth speed, we could more cars through than if we all try to go fast and create a stop and go "parking lot".
But how could we ever agree to slow down together during peak traffic times? If the legislature tried to pass a law, the debate itself would probably go on forever, and then if by some miracle the law were passed, some drivers would flout the law creating an unsafe and ineffective situation. But what if all the drivers just reached a collective agreement on their own? How could this happen?
That is when I decided to try an experiment. I propose that we all voluntarily slow down to 50 miles per hour on the freeway during the morning commute on Tuesdays. Wouldn't it be far better to go a little slower, get smooth, establish a rhythm, and arrive without stress? Our first attempt will be on
Tuesday February 12th, from 6am to 9am.
Of course everyone needs to be careful, pay attention to road conditions, and only do what makes sense under the circumstances at hand.
After each attempt we can evaluate the results, make any needed adjustments, and get ready to try again the next week. If this works and we really start to see an impact on traffic congestion, then we can voluntarily expand to other days and times.
I created a web site that we can all use to keep in touch on this project:
http://inwhack.com/go50. Or you can get more information by email at
go50@inwhack.com.
What do you think? Is it worth a try? If so, would you help me promote this?
It will cost nothing to try this, we have nothing to lose (as long as everybody pays attention to the driving conditions at the time), and we could gain some practical relief for road congestion.
Go 50!
Labels: traffic driving roads commute congestion carpool bus
