Also discussed here: Transportation: Inspiring a Sustainability Action Agenda (39 page pdf slideshow, May 14, 2011)
The focus today is on an analysis by a leading Ottawa expert on mobility, Prof. Barry Wellar. He sees the use of the term “gridlock” as a dichotomy between “research-based, and deserve to be treated as the real deal” or “not research-based, and deserve to be dismissed as a pile of nonsense”. The answer is left to the reader of his paper to answer. That said, the causes of gridlock and the impacts it might have on mobility in general and the environment in particular are worth examination.
(26 min YuTube video, May 14, 2011)
Key Quotes:
"… Besides, increased traffic is a natural outcome of the city's intensification goals."
“gridlock..used as a general purpose term to cover all manner of volume-related, capacity-related, and other kinds of problems associated with traffic flow interruptions, delays, diversions”
“if major corrective steps are not taken, entire cities will be going to transportation hell in a handcart on a daily basis because private motor vehicles – cars, SUVs, pick-ups, minivans, tractor trailers, etc. – will be in the grip of paralysing gridlock”
“the claims, pronouncements, exhortations, promises, profferings, threats, calls for attention, warnings, etc., about traffic gridlock lack methodological underpinnings, and in general appear to be at best the products of what has been described as anatomical sourcing”
Questions to be addressed:
- “What is the meaning of traffic gridlock?
- How is traffic gridlock defined?
- How is traffic gridlock measured?
- What is the process whereby traffic gridlock occurs?
- What is the established process whereby traffic gridlock is mitigated, resolved, or dissolved as the case may be?
- What are the full environmental, economic, financial, social, energy, and multi-modal transportation system benefits and costs of solving either chronic or temporary manifestations of so-called traffic gridlock?
- How do you methodologically measure the full environmental, economic, financial, social, energy, and multi-modal transportation system benefits and costs of solving either chronic or temporary manifestations of so-called traffic gridlock?”
Related articles
- Traffic gridlock on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, by citizen Ifeanyi (vanguardngr.com)
- Just a Few Talking Cars Could Eliminate Gridlock | Autopia | Wired.com (paulsaute.wordpress.com)
- Janette Sadik-Khan, New York's transportation commissioner, cuts through the gridlock to build a greener city. (slate.com)
- 'Perfect Storm' Of Events Expected To Create Major Gridlock Across NYC (newyork.cbslocal.com)
- Wireless system to help gridlock? (nydailynews.com)
- Video: Bill Ford is worried about traffic, talks to TED about it (autoblog.com)
- Just a Few Talking Cars Could Eliminate Gridlock (wired.com)
- Three ways to save pedestrians (theglobeandmail.com)
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