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Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

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Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#11

Post by krschultz »

Not to sound like a radical libertarian but imagine a world in which roads were operated with some sense of incentives to actually MOVE TRAFFIC THROUGH.

Lets have Tolls - but you get a refund when you are delayed. I imagine construction would suddenly be done 24/7 and be finished in half the time. Traffic light systems would be heavily automated/AI so that there isn't much traffic.

Instead they give out construction contracts to the "cheapest", which ignores all of the wasted time and gas the public endures in traffic, a secondary cost of the project.

Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#12

Post by Anechoic »

krschultz wrote: post #11

Not to sound like a radical libertarian but imagine a world in which roads were operated with some sense of incentives to actually MOVE TRAFFIC THROUGH. Lets have Tolls - but you get a refund when you are delayed. I imagine construction would suddenly be done 24/7 and be finished in half the time. Traffic light systems would be heavily automated/AI so that there isn't much traffic. Instead they give out construction…

I imagine construction would suddenly be done 24/7 and be finished in half the time.

You would be trading one set of inconveniences for another - in the case of nighttime construction you're typically paying the construction workers more (anywhere from time-and-a-half to triple time IME) plus the environmental mitigation for the nighttime activities (noise in particular).

Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#13

Post by sigstoat »

alecco wrote: post #4

Getting rid of cars as much as possible in congested areas is the best way. Promoting very good public transportation and prioritizing people walking and riding bicycles. If they optimize the flow of cars in a little time there will be more people using cars in those areas and no operations researcher can solve that bigger traffic jam. People, like any biological entity, adapt to the environment.

buses, trucks, emergency vehicles, bicycles on the roads, taxis, people going places too out of the way for public transportation to service and whatever other uses of the roads that aren't immediately obvious would all still benefit from this.

smoother traffic flow and reduced time on the roads would also reduce accidents, which would require fewer vehicles be manufactured, which is a nontrivial environmental impact in and of itself. oh and fewer humans would die in horrific accidents.

Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#14

Post by sigstoat »

sliverstorm wrote: post #6

If they remove timers from lights entirely, they better improve the sensors. There are already numerous lights that do not detect the presence of my motorcycle.

it seems as though in this case they're trying to detect 'platoons' or waves of traffic, so if you're traveling along in the vicinity of some cars, they can be detected, and you can still benefit.

Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#17

Post by evo_9 »

AndyKelley wrote: post #16

Too bad our government is too big and slow to actually do it.

I think it's more a matter of the money the government makes off of tickets and such. That's the biggest obstacle - the revenue that is impacted by this change.

Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#18

Post by [deleted] »

bokchoi wrote: post #7
sliverstorm wrote: post #6

If they remove timers from lights entirely, they better improve the sensors. There are already numerous lights that do not detect the presence of my motorcycle.

When I'm riding my bike and I need to turn left, I'll jump up and down on the sensor. I look like an idiot, but usually it works! ;)

[deleted]

Re: Study: Traffic lights should respond to cars, not the other way around

#20

Post by brudgers »

krschultz wrote: post #11

Not to sound like a radical libertarian but imagine a world in which roads were operated with some sense of incentives to actually MOVE TRAFFIC THROUGH. Lets have Tolls - but you get a refund when you are delayed. I imagine construction would suddenly be done 24/7 and be finished in half the time. Traffic light systems would be heavily automated/AI so that there isn't much traffic. Instead they give out construction…

What matters is moving people, not traffic.

http://commontragedies.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/cars-vs-b...

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