Traffic engineering to save fuel?
 

has anyone else thought about the costs of traffic calming BS
here in Florida the new trend is to limit traffic to main roads
and try to mess up and slow down the flow on side streets
that would be fine IF you could drive on the major roads
but with the jams at or near GRIDLOCK you cannot

traffic calming is supported by NIMBYs who just donot think
a PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY means what it said
and side streets are their PRIVATE street
to be used only by those who live there
so they put up circles, extra 4 way stops, prohibit turns, [even right turns]
speed bumps, tables [ extra big speed bumps]
make streets one way to limit access
and even close the PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY
to limit or stop thru traffic
and force everyone to get back in the GRIDLOCK on the major roads

this something I like to avoid by useing back streets
as most of Miami -Dade co is on a square grid
except for ex-ways and channels you can get there faster
without useing the backed up major roads
but traffic calming is actively trying to end this option

I wonder how much fuel all this BS is costing
and if it is time to change direction

I love the stupid-arse fking red lights they put on freeway on ramps. Yep. That's efficient. Take a car coasting down the on-ramp doing 40 or 50, make them dead stop, sit there for a few seconds, then have them accelerate to 80 for no reason. Fking brilliant!

That and the non-timed lights. Double brilliant.

I wonder if anyone has seriously attempted to calculate how many billions (and I have no doubt its billions, with a "B") of dollars of fuel & time are wasted annually by stupid crap like this, not to mention just plain-old inefficiency.

a very timely post. I 've wondered about it myself.

I don't think we need more roads, just make the ones we have more efficient at moving traffic. Main intersections should have overpasses and cloverleafs, Traffic signals should operate more like an officer directing traffic. We should shoot for much higher average speeds off the freeways to take pressure off the freeways. Stop signs are the worst if there are more than 3 cars stopping.

double post post

I think that traffic circles or roundabouts work great when implemented in the right spots. The only problem is getting American drivers used to them and not have people treat it like a stop sign. I have been seeing more of them in northern California recently. There are a couple in Truckee, CA that work pretty well and definitely improved the flow of traffic at the intersections.

There's one here in Long Beach. It's great when traffic is light, but when traffic is heavy, you invariably get the idiots that don't know the difference between a "yield" and a "stop" sign, so much time is wasted. And then there are the ones that cannot for the life of them judge/estimate traffic speed coming around the circle and estimate their ability to accelerate and merge into a gap or not, so they just sit there, overly timid and/or too dumb to figure it out. VERY frustrating, but it beats more traffic lights (and red-light cameras). And it gives a location for nice landscaping in the middle. . .

I'm also a fan of traffic circles.

Although, when they get pretty busy, they make it very hard for pedestrians to cross the street. At that point you have to add lights to the circle, which defeats the purpose.

well there are BIG circles that are an aid to traffic flow
and small tight little circles that are a well planned bottleneck
thats what they are useing in the traffic calming plans
an unneeded obstruction in the middle of a 50 by 50 right of way intersection
that has sidewalks and grass swall then add tight curbs outside and inside
so you are left with a under sized one lane tight turn around of about 25' radius
too small for a truck, rec-v, or towing a trailer,
then string a 1/2 doz of them per mile on a well used street

Plus, they're great impromptu locations for clandestine noctural skidpad testing, and chickenstrip erasing.

You guys are still at the learning stage:D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._hemel.svg.png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-Hhmra4146.jpg

Now this is a real roundabout with traffic going round in both directions and lots of satellite roundabouts to speed up entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Hemel_Hempstead%29

Your Wiki link is Wack! Probably because the magic roundabout is actually in Swindon not Hemel Hempstead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)

Roundabouts/Traffic circles can work well but in some cases were the traffic flow has become too heavy or too one sided, traffic lights become the only way to control them. Also as some body else pointed out they are not pedestrian friendly as the through flow of traffic can be pretty much constant.

A quick demo of how not to use a roundabout! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyyFi4puQ7s

There are actually at least four in the UK. The original and "best" is Hemel Hempstead.;) Others are Swindon, Colchester and High Wycombe.

http://i.pbase.com/u6/seebee/upload/...Roundabout.jpg

I changed the photo in my post above as you raised a doubt in my mind about whether it was definitely Hemel Hempstead.

In response to the original post.

I disagree. I once lived on a street that people used for a cut through.

It was not safe, the idiots would speed down the block oblivious to the kids playing or riding their bikes.

Your desire to shave 2 minutes from your commute does not supersede the residents right to safety.

It's a public street paid for with public money. Why should one not have the right to use it?

I don't mean "drive down a residential street at 80" but USE it. Normally?

Another example of special interests controlling government.

Good article in Atlantic Monthly last month:

Why stop signs and speed limits endanger Americans

I say take all the signs down and let Darwinism run its course. :)