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ntluser · 10-07-2003, 16:01

Congestion results when the weight of traffic exceeds the capability of the roads to handle it.

Ideally, traffic should flow freely as vehicles enter, use and leave major roads and motorways.

In reality this does not happen because the weight of traffic forces those who wish to get on to the roads to wait on side roads or sliproads building up congestion there.

On the roads or motorways, the weight of traffic forces drivers to drive more slowly or indeed to come to a standstill.

Leaving a major road or a motorway is difficult because the subsidiary roads to which they are linked are not able to cope with the sudden deluge of traffic exiting onto them.

On major roads, congestion is caused by traffic lights and their settings, pedestrian crossings, drivers turning right in narrow roads, on street parking and lack of easily accessible parking space, buses stopping at bus stops blocking through traffic i.e no layby, cyclists unable to keep up with the flow of traffic, bad driving or journey planning, poor traffic management systems etc.

On motorways, congestion is caused mainly by entering and leaving the motorway as congestion on slip roads causes drivers to force their way into the motorway flow which slows to accommodate them. Similarly, there are points where the rate at which traffic exits the motorway is so slow that traffic backs up causing on-motorway congestion.

This too is further complicated by accidents, roadworks and poor road design and is worsened by the fact that often there is not an alternative route for traffic to use to bypass the offending obstacle.

In coming up with solutions to the congestion problems, planners need to take all these factors into consideration and need to plan accordingly.

We need to control not only the amount and pace of traffic on major roads and motorways but also the type of traffic and the conditions under which it is moving. Motorists also need to plan their journeys more carefully so as not to worsen congestion.

Widening motorways, as the government proposes, will concentrate more traffic in the same place and make the congestion worse and allowing traffic to use the hard shoulder will cut off the emergency services access when an accident occurs, making their task impossible and allowing congestion to continue.

10-07-2003, 16:01	#16
ntluser Inactive Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Manchester Age: 79 Services: Virgin Media XL Telephone,TV with Tivo box & Superhub3 upto 150Mb Broadband, Sky World, & Freeview+ Posts: 1,901	Congestion results when the weight of traffic exceeds the capability of the roads to handle it. Ideally, traffic should flow freely as vehicles enter, use and leave major roads and motorways. In reality this does not happen because the weight of traffic forces those who wish to get on to the roads to wait on side roads or sliproads building up congestion there. On the roads or motorways, the weight of traffic forces drivers to drive more slowly or indeed to come to a standstill. Leaving a major road or a motorway is difficult because the subsidiary roads to which they are linked are not able to cope with the sudden deluge of traffic exiting onto them. On major roads, congestion is caused by traffic lights and their settings, pedestrian crossings, drivers turning right in narrow roads, on street parking and lack of easily accessible parking space, buses stopping at bus stops blocking through traffic i.e no layby, cyclists unable to keep up with the flow of traffic, bad driving or journey planning, poor traffic management systems etc. On motorways, congestion is caused mainly by entering and leaving the motorway as congestion on slip roads causes drivers to force their way into the motorway flow which slows to accommodate them. Similarly, there are points where the rate at which traffic exits the motorway is so slow that traffic backs up causing on-motorway congestion. This too is further complicated by accidents, roadworks and poor road design and is worsened by the fact that often there is not an alternative route for traffic to use to bypass the offending obstacle. In coming up with solutions to the congestion problems, planners need to take all these factors into consideration and need to plan accordingly. We need to control not only the amount and pace of traffic on major roads and motorways but also the type of traffic and the conditions under which it is moving. Motorists also need to plan their journeys more carefully so as not to worsen congestion. Widening motorways, as the government proposes, will concentrate more traffic in the same place and make the congestion worse and allowing traffic to use the hard shoulder will cut off the emergency services access when an accident occurs, making their task impossible and allowing congestion to continue.