Traffic jam occurs when motorists’ capacity creates route demand that is higher than a present road capacity. Traffic jams can result from a number of circumstances whose end result lead to increased volume of vehicle and reduced road capacity. Auckland is most famous for its traffic jam that normally stretches from Hibiscus Coast Northwards to Bombay in the Southside. These two stretches define New Zealand’s borders. The main cause of traffic snarl is too many vehicles on the road; though, bad weather, road accidents, and road repairs and maintenance may also lead to traffic jams. This statement can be justified by the research of a scholar at Nagoya University. “The real origin of the snarl-up often has nothing to do with an obvious obstruction such as accidents or construction work but is simply the result of there being too many cars,” (Alex, 2008).
The findings of the research mentioned above can be confirmed by the fact that in Auckland most motorists spend more time in traffic during festivities. The Transport Agency reports busy work days on 2nd January and 27th December between Warkworth and Northern Gateway. The reason for this is because on these days the number of motor vehicles on the road increases by about 50% of normal day traffic, (Anonymous, 2008).
How too many vehicles in Road Causes Traffic Snarl
Traffic density is an applied concept that can be used to analyze how the number of vehicles causes traffic. For instance, by monitoring the number of vehicles moving around a roundabout at a constant speed, it can be noted that only a small fluctuation of traffic flow at one given point causes a chain reaction that is equally distributed to all other road users in the network. Because the effect is transferred to all other road users, when the numbers of vehicles happen to be many, traffic will immediately come to a standstill. The number of vehicles in Auckland, New Zealand is among the world’s largest after the US. Therefore, given the fact that the US and Auckland both experience road traffic and that the two nations have the largest number of vehicles per given area, then it is justified that traffic jams result from many vehicles on the road.
When the behavior of traffic built up does not depend on the size of a highway, whether small or big, the effect will be the same as long as the number of vehicles exceeds a given road capacity. Excessive injection of vehicles in the road will make density exceed the critical tolerable number of vehicles and this will in turn make the traffic become unstable, (Alex, 2008).
Improving Traffic flow in Auckland
The problem of traffic resulting from many numbers of vehicles on the road can be solved in a number of ways. To begin with, carpooling is one way of reducing the number of vehicles on the road. It refers to sharing of personal vehicles headed in the same direction. Carpooling will ensure; for instance, if four people using the same vehicle to work rather than using their personal cars will reduce the number of vehicles on the road by a good percentage. Besides carpooling, the public should be encouraged to use public rather than private means of transport.
The above-mentioned solutions are the individual effort that can be made. Otherwise, all stakeholders in the transport sector have to develop new road network designs to improve traffic flow in the city. The city council of Auckland jump-started Project Greenlane to resolve the traffic debacle. The objective of the project was to divide the busy five-way road into 4-T intersections. The intersections were then to be linked to the same traffic light control system. Alongside the road divisions, the project was also to upgrade pedestrian paths, bike lanes, and overhaul the landscape. This had to be done simultaneously with control of traffic congestion.
The group involved in the project made significant steps in coordinating the road system so that all road issues had secured backup systems in case of machines and equipment break down. In addition, the team also designed remedies for unseen extreme situations in the road in what is described as 3-4 level risk management programs. To ensure the lighting system software was working, it was tested before being used because the move from the old system to the new one was not supposed to interfere with the normal flow of traffic.
The government of Auckland made a significant step towards achieving a sustainable solution to the issues of traffic jams. This ensued after the city council removed parking spaces along Symonds Street; hence discouraging private vehicles users from parking in the city. In addition, the council also made parking fees more expensive so that the public can use public transport. The effect of these steps is geared towards reducing the number of vehicles on the road and reducing the carbon footprint in the atmosphere which means a greener and sustainable environment in the future.
The Role of Engineers in Designing Traffic Control Programs
The role of traffic engineers is a vital part of serving the public interest via the provision of solutions to the current traffic issues. Their work involves conducting research in relation to public road conditions; analyze the cause of the problems, and finding a solution to identified problems. One of the roles played by traffic engineers is to determine speed limits as speed limits can only be legalized by the government following approval by traffic engineers. Speed limits as set by engineers are popular with the public, thus their implementation has always been positive. Setting speed limits should reflect the want of the public so that it does not invite protests.
Another role of traffic engineers is to design traffic signals that will improve the flow of traffic rather than create traffic snarl. Bad traffic signals can cause accidents and congestion. Working of traffic signal does not only apply in controlling the flow of vehicles but also in stopping the flow because at times an accident may occur and am immediate solution will be to stop traffic flow for a moment. For that matter, a good engineering design has to take such issues into consideration for sustainable traffic control. The use of signals is applied at road intersections and roundabouts. Through wired and wireless telecommunication, code interpretation can be used to analyze traffic data for vehicles and within a traffic network that is technology enabled, (Mitchell, p. 4).
Call center improvement is one of the most result-oriented engineering designs that can be used to improve traffic congestion. A personalized call center developed in liaison with Telecom New Zealand seeks to employ the use of ACD; Automatic Call Distributor software alongside a second model. These two proposed broker models will be able to forecast traffic jam congestion via the use of engineering IT solutions, (Rafiq, 2008). Therefore, it can be justified that traffic engineers play a vital role in the development of traffic control mechanisms to ease the flow of traffic.
References
Alex, Car & Vehicle, Science &Tech. Traffic Jams Caused by…Too Many Cars on the Road! 2010. Web.
Anonymous. Traffic jam. PM Networks, 2008. Web.
Mitchell, W.J., (2004). Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Rafiq, Mohammed, (2008). Personalized call center traffic prediction to enhance management solution with reference to call traffic mitigation – a case study on Telecom New Zealand. Auckland: AUT University Press.