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Oxymoronic Traffic Patterns02-23-09 | News

Oxymoronic Traffic Patterns

Studies show that the only way to improve the traffic flow is when drivers coordinate their movements with everyone around them, and act unselfishly to benefit the entire group. When roads are closed, selfish drivers have less choices and find it more difficult to choose the ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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There are several paradoxes at work here. The first is based on an economic theory put forth in the 1920s by mathematician Dietrich Braess of Ruhr University. It states that in a network where all the moving participants seek the most efficient route, adding extra capacity can reduce the efficiency. What happened in Seoul is Braess?EUR??,,????'?????<

Michael Gastner wrote an article called ?EUR??,,????'?????<

There is another counterintuitive traffic strategy known as shared streets. Encouraging driver anarchy by removing traffic lights, street markings and boundaries between the street and the sidewalk, safety and traffic flow were improved. That?EUR??,,????'?????<

Recently this was tried in a downtown Montgomery, Alabama intersection, which was turned from a signalized one to a plaza shared by cars, bikes and pedestrians. More eye contact was the result of driver discomfort and nervousness, and resulted in the drivers going slower.

These strategies make the selfish needs of individual drivers less important than the collective good of everyone. This might be a good time, given the Obama administration?EUR??,,????'?????<