Boston Using IBM Engineers To Solve Traffic Problems

Fix Boston traffic? by gelfling · 2012-07-01 09:18 · Score: 1

Don't forget nuclear explosives.

Re:Fix Boston traffic? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-01 09:57 · Score: 1

I was thinking Truck-o-saurus.
A few predators to thin out the herd and prevent die-off.

Article & summary are light on details by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-01 09:18 · Score: 1

So, what solution did they propose?

I don't care from where they fly in their consultants, unless if they came from Titan or Kepler-22b.

Re:Tokyo? by ThatsMyNick · 2012-07-01 09:27 · Score: 2

IBM Tokyo is not responsible for managing Tokyo's traffic.

I coulda solved that.. by Cornwallis · 2012-07-01 09:29 · Score: 2

Easy peasy. Give me a billion dollars or so... let me build a really, really big tunnel... that'll solve all the problems... I'll call it the "Big Dig" so everyone can have really folksy stories about it. Problem solved!

Oh, wait...

Re:Tokyo? by wonkey_monkey · 2012-07-01 09:36 · Score: 1

If that was the heaviest traffic I ever had to deal with, I'd be ecstatic.

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systemd is Roko's Basilisk.

Tweaks to the cultural problem by A+beautiful+mind · 2012-07-01 09:40 · Score: 5, Insightful

All the IBM engineers will do is decrease the issue of traffic by a couple of percent, maybe raise efficiency by 10-20% here and there, but the real issue is cultural. Cars suck for a dense urban environment, you need people on bikes, carpooling and the most important thing: good public transportation.

Good public transportation means though forcing cars out from city centers by creating bus lanes, creating tram lines on previously car-only roads, building enough parking space at the edge of the city where people could switch over to public transport, etc.

--
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say

Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by turkeydance · 2012-07-01 09:47 · Score: 1, Insightful

"forcing cars out" means people and money go away.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by garcia · 2012-07-01 09:59 · Score: 2

In my limited experience in Boston, the problem wasn't the people living within the dense urban environment, it was the people coming in from the suburbs that was the problem. In fact, it was only some of those people because many drove to train stations and rode those into the urban center.
Now, contrast that with Los Angeles where people can live less than five miles from work but still drive in knowing it will take 45+ minutes--at least twice as long as it would by bike and almost as much time as it would take to walk.
Boston has a great public transportation system which is easily accessible. Los Angeles, OTOH, has a public transportation system but very few were using it compared to the sheet number of idiots driving from all over fucking creation.
BTW, when I was in Boston I walked or took the train/trolley and when I was in LA, I walked.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by rolfwind · 2012-07-01 10:00 · Score: 1

All the IBM engineers will do is decrease the issue of traffic by a couple of percent, maybe raise efficiency by 10-20% here and there, but the real issue is cultural. Cars suck for a dense urban environment, you need people on bikes, carpooling and the most important thing: good public transportation.
Good public transportation means though forcing cars out from city centers by creating bus lanes, creating tram lines on previously car-only roads, building enough parking space at the edge of the city where people could switch over to public transport, etc.
One of the big problems I had in Germany with ditching my car was that the mass transit wouldn't accept my bike onto it. I had to be in a bike compartment but those were limited and not every train. Same with buses, some had a bike rack, many didn't. If I could have been assured of taking my bike anyware, I would have ditched the car, and just rented one when I absolutely needed it.
(The reason I don't imagine a foldup bike in this scenario and is one that fits on a train costs about $1k, and I'm rather interested in electric bikes in making this all the more practical, and those are expensive enough, adding that special niche like a folding bike and you're probably talking about $2-3k. Just too much for something that can be stolen easily.)
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by Hognoxious · 2012-07-01 10:05 · Score: 4, Insightful

That must be why there are so many drive-thru shopping malls.

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Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2012-07-01 10:20 · Score: 4, Interesting

The problem with public transportation, is that the rich folks think that's how the poor folks ride to work. Rich folks ride to work in a big 'ole SUV, because if they use public transportation, they won't feel rich anymore.
So all you need to do, is to introduce 1st and 2nd class compartments in public transportation. That way, rich folks can still feel rich by traveling 1st class, and the poor folks can feel better about themselves, because they ride in the same transportation as the rich folks.
Obviously, a win-win.
Oh, and maybe free in-transit lap dances in the 1st class would make it even more attractive.

--
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by dr2chase · 2012-07-01 10:43 · Score: 1

Do you really need electric assist on the folding bike that you use to commute? This seems like one of those best-is-enemy-of-the-adequate situations. Or if you have a hilly commute at the home end, get some sort of a cargo bike with electric assist, carry the folder to the train, take the folder to the train. Note that the combined cost of a cargo bike with e-assist AND a quality folding bicycle ($5k ought to do it) is a fraction of the cost of a new car. Used cars are cheaper, but so are used bikes (and you might wonder, why is it that used cargo bikes and folders don't lose their value as quickly as automobiles?)
And I would view the electric bike as the niche item, not the folder.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-07-01 10:53 · Score: 2

Depends on the location.

In my time on the MBTA, my informal observations have been as follows:

In dense core areas, usually covered by the subway portion of the MBTA system, you see a pretty fair proportion of suits and techies and whatnot. Certainly times and places where the urine-scented/vaguely menacing/talking to voices only they can hear can be found; but the pleasure of crawling through traffic and paying exorbitant rates for parking is not a luxury good. Subways aren't all fun, of course; but dense core areas are the places where the economics of mass transit are best and the freedom of the open road and the right to travel according to your own schedule are most frequently, and most transparently, the freedom to pay more in order to endure traffic and fight for parking spaces.

The 'Commuter Rail' segments also do what they say on the tin, and you certainly do see all the suburbanites who left their cars at the lot at one of the train stations and then rode in to participate in the dense core areas above.

Where things can get a trifle...downmarket... is in places where bus service operates across the same territory as moderate to low density suburban areas that are designed with car-owning residents in mind. This is where public transit's advantages are least evident, its vices most evident, relative to cars(not counting rural areas, of course, where mass transit is largely nonexistent, save for certain bus and rail routes between urban centers). If you are riding the bus through the suburbs, this might well be because you don't have a choice.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by phantomfive · 2012-07-01 10:53 · Score: 2

No, because traveling by car is better than traveling by train. A lot of people feel so (including me), regardless of richness or poorness. You get there faster, you don't have to worry about transportation to the station, you can pick up a carload of groceries on the way home, etc. In short, a car gives you more flexibility, freedom, and speed.

Of course, in a really dense city, with bad traffic, the speed issue goes away, but there aren't many US cities like that.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by drinkypoo · 2012-07-01 10:55 · Score: 1

The problem with public transportation, is that the rich folks think that's how the poor folks ride to work. Rich folks ride to work in a big 'ole SUV, because if they use public transportation, they won't feel rich anymore.

Slap SUVs with a big fat fine if they want to enter the city center, like London but even more money. Then spend the money on improving public transportation... Having first and second class compartments won't work, but you can have first and second class public transportation. It's called taxis and buses, respectively. Often there's even fancy taxis and generic taxis.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by dr2chase · 2012-07-01 11:03 · Score: 1

Problem solved, except for your whiny victim-of-liberals attitude: http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/accessible_services/?id=7108
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by bosef1 · 2012-07-01 11:10 · Score: 2

I agree with the sentiment that people feel like public transportation is for the "poor", especially the bus. I have often felt that you could actually encourage more "rich" people to take the bus for communiting if you changed nothing about the experience but raised the price to, say $5-7 for a one-way trip instead of $1-2. That would serve to exclude the creepy homeless guys, dangerous teenagers, etc. You would still have to run $1-2 busses for the "poor", and all the busses would run on the same routes.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by dr2chase · 2012-07-01 11:12 · Score: 1

The busses-to-the-burbs go about the same distance as my happy-to-bike-it range, but my bike is cheaper, has more flexible hours, and is (door-to-door) faster. People need not sweat, if they're allergic to exercise; small scooters (electric or infernal combustion) are faster than the bike, have adequate range, and not as likely to cause traffic jams (because they are smaller).
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by DigiShaman · 2012-07-01 11:23 · Score: 1

Again, it's cultural. In Shanghai, I see all sorts of people taking the bus, taxi, and subway system. The population density is so high that owning a car is to troublesome. Especially during rush hour (LA California has nothing on Shanghai, trust me). So for all the shoving and pushing around, no one takes it personally. Income ranges from the rich to the dirt begger. In America however, what you suggested might be the only way.

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Life is not for the lazy.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by ljw1004 · 2012-07-01 12:40 · Score: 1

Or do it like the Paris metro, where 1st and 2nd class carriages in the train are absolutely identical, but tickets for the 1st class carriages cost more.
It's an elegant self-adjusting mechanism to make the 1st class carriages less crowded and hence more desirable.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by rolfwind · 2012-07-01 12:55 · Score: 1

Actually, my point was that I wanted to use full size bikes with transit, as their electric options are vastly cheaper than an electric folding bike (which is already expensive). But with a lot of mass transit as it is today, only a folding bike (such as the brompton) is the only thing allowed on board. Add electric to that and it becomes at least a $2500 proposition. A regular shitty electric bike can be had for $500.
My nearest rail station back then was 25 minutes (+ train ride of 20 mins) so yeah, cutting that down to 15 or less minutes would have made a difference to me.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by darkstar949 · 2012-07-01 14:15 · Score: 1

Honestly, I'd say the problem is more willingness to invest in infrastructure than anything else. The MBTA is continuously running into issues with signalling problems leading to train delays but since they are effectively broke (even though ridership goes up every year), there hasn't been any push to invest in infrastructure.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by dr2chase · 2012-07-01 14:47 · Score: 1

Full size bikes are actually a problem, and I speak as someone who wishes it were easier. If you look at the "bike cars" run by CalTrain between San Jose and San Francisco, they devote half the floor space (i.e., 3/8 the capacity of one car) to a mere 40 bicycles (8 stacks of 5). That's a big capacity hit (if Caltrain actually ran full of people on a regular basis). The time to load and unload is also an issue; it takes longer, and that can delay trains, which can delay the trains behind them.
I don't do this regularly, so it's not an issue for me personally, but after trying to figure out whether it could (for example) work here in Boston or not, I had to concede that a full-sized bicycle was not just another carry-on item.
In your case, what's the alternative? Buy a car? That's a big pile of money. You could buy multiple good bicycles for the cost of a car -- as I proposed above, one with motor assist (or a small scooter) and enough carrying capacity to haul you and the Brompton both, to get you to the train station near your home. Park the fast bike, carry the folder, use it at the job end. The people I know who own Bromptons rave about them, and I can rave at you about the wonderful usefulness of a cargo bike.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by ThatsMyNick · 2012-07-01 14:53 · Score: 1

You could call them Express and stop are more only at more appropriate stops.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by Jah-Wren+Ryel · 2012-07-01 16:33 · Score: 1

They would have to make different stops, nobody in an armani suit wants to stand within spitting distance of some down on his luck guy in grubby clothes and dishevled hair.

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When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by illogict · 2012-07-01 17:12 · Score: 5, Informative

Wait, what? There's been no 1st class in Paris metro since 1991.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by davester666 · 2012-07-01 19:20 · Score: 1

People in LA use their cars instead of bikes or public transportation because their cars have bulletproof glass.

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Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by dunkelfalke · 2012-07-01 19:36 · Score: 1

I used to have the same problem, then I got fit enough to ditch the train for all distances under 25 km (also uphill).

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"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by PlusFiveTroll · 2012-07-02 01:16 · Score: 1

Strip mall is a close as you can get. Where I live they are everywhere. There is only one old style mall. You'll see people go back to their car and drive 100 meters so their car is in front to the next shop in the same mall.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by tehcyder · 2012-07-02 01:44 · Score: 1

when I was in LA, I walked
I'm not from the US but I feel fairly confident in stating that walking is illegal in LA..

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by TheMathemagician · 2012-07-02 02:32 · Score: 1

As a Londoner who uses the Tube every day I'm perfectly happy with the speed and frequency of service. The problem is too many £&"^ing people being squashed into the carriages when I want to commute to and from work. Although I wouldn't be particularly overjoyed to pay it, I think there's a case for more punitive pricing on the Tube to reward off-peak travel. Of course this happens already but it could be made much more extreme.
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-07-02 05:30 · Score: 1

the real issue is cultural
Yeah, and they didn't need to import talent to figure this out.
Some guy at MIT published a paper a few years back indicating that people driving like assholes in Boston creates traffic waves which increases congestion by NN % where NN is some large number.
I need to journey down to Mordor once in a while, and I'll tell you - using a turn signal on the highway near Boston is considered a sign of weakness that needs to be punished by the herd.
Oh, but IBM was twenty years late and fifty gazillion dollars over on the air traffic control system, so let's ask them to consult on a far more complex system.

--
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Re:Tweaks to the cultural problem by ThatsMyNick · 2012-07-02 07:24 · Score: 1

LOL. Are they afraid that the guy with grubby clothes will spit on them, and they want stay out of his spitting range?

Re:Boston Innovation District by Gothmolly · 2012-07-01 09:48 · Score: 1

What's amusing is that you think you're relevant. You're not a GenX or GenY, and you're not a boomer. Your vote doesn't matter.

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I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.

Achtung schweinhund! by Hognoxious · 2012-07-01 09:57 · Score: 2

Have you ever been to Berlin? I was there several years ago and watched the traffic from the old East German TV tower that was nothing to do with spying at all, not even a little bit. It was amazing how smoothly the traffic ran. It was like clockwork.

According to a local colleague a) they adjust the lights to favor traffic moving away from busy areas and restrict it entering the jams and b) anyone blocking an intersection is taken out und geschossen.

Contrast that with Brussels or Paris where you can sit through three green lights because some imbecile on the cross street is stopped in the middle of the intersection.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."

Re:Achtung schweinhund! by darkstar949 · 2012-07-01 14:08 · Score: 1

You would be surprised - or maybe not - at how hard the concept of "Don't block the box!" is for Americans to grasp.
Re:Achtung schweinhund! by Bigbutt · 2012-07-01 23:51 · Score: 1

While I don't ride in rush hour any more, when I did, I found that if I left any space between me and the car in front of me, some pinhead would slip in and take it leaving me at the light anyway. So it's block the box or add 5 or 10 minutes to my commute.
I switched to commuter rail and motorcycle, then moved to a less congested part of the country and now ride a bicycle or motorcycle to work.
[John]

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Shit better not happen!

Re:Boston Innovation District by PopeRatzo · 2012-07-01 10:09 · Score: 4, Insightful

Over the past several years, many IT and biotech startups as well as mature companies have moved to the rapidly developing South Boston waterfront, which is accessible via subway but not too friendly for people driving cars who have to contend with lots of traffic and parking hassles.

And that makes it our problem how? Because these companies decide to move somewhere that doesn't have sufficient services, they expect subsidies, tax abatements, and other taxpayer-funded giveaways.

Then, they'll be the first ones to lobby against tax increases or regulations because...teh free market!1!.

Like that Ricketts guy who is screaming about big government this and big government that, but wants the taxpayers to buy him a nice new stadium for the Cubs that he owns. And this is going on in practically every big city with a pro sports franchise. "Give us money for a new stadium or we'll move away."

I hope Boston decides to send the bill for these "IBM engineers" to the companies that are going to benefit from any improvements that make things easier for them, but somehow, considering the climate where states and municipalities have to provide juice payments for any companies that want to move there, they'll probably just take money from the schools or cut teacher salaries or firefighter health care to pay them.

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You are welcome on my lawn.

what if you dug a gigantic tunnell... by decora · 2012-07-01 10:10 · Score: 5, Funny

right under the city? it would probably solve those traffic problems for good! also, it wouldn't cost that much, and it wouldn't take that long.

Re:what if you dug a gigantic tunnell... by game+kid · 2012-07-01 10:31 · Score: 1

Thus far, Manhattan's Second Ave Subway project has proven parts [c] and (arguably) [b] wrong. We'll see if it at least validates [a].
Maybe you were thinking a bit more colossal though.

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You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Re:what if you dug a gigantic tunnell... by Bigby · 2012-07-01 12:36 · Score: 1

Whooosh!
The GP was referencing the Big Dig. It went billions overbudget and finished nearly 10 years later than estimated.

As a math student by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-01 10:13 · Score: 1

I can tell you that traffic jams are stochastic and can spontaneously happen. It is still a big problem in queuing theory to model these kinds of things in order to minimize the amount of traffic, but even so large jams can still happen due to the chaotic nature of the problem.

Re:Why IBM? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2012-07-01 10:13 · Score: 4, Funny

Exactly. Microsoft, on the other hand, has decades of expertise in this area. I'd recommend deploying Microsoft Traf-O-Data 2011, the newest version featuring seamless interoperability with MS Office and other popular software. That IBM stuff will still be using punch cards for sure anyway.

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Ezekiel 23:20

Re:Why IBM? by LesFerg · 2012-07-01 10:25 · Score: 4, Insightful

You think punch cards are bad? IBM is till pushing Lotus Notes as an email application.
Think I would prefer punch cards.

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If I had a DeLorean... I would probably only drive it from time to time.

Re:Why IBM? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2012-07-01 10:31 · Score: 1

A quick google turns up this: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/green_and_sustainability/nextsteps/solution/N500945X17585D04.html

Maybe they can make the planet smarter . . . but the folks driving cars seem to be getting dumber.

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Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!

Free the market by Ichijo · 2012-07-01 10:32 · Score: 2

Given that traffic congestion is a shortage of available road space for the number of motorists who want to use it at a particular time, the solution is obvious to anyone with an ounce of economic sense: stop setting the price below the going rate determined by supply and demand. Get rid of the government-imposed price ceilings on freeway travel, and suddenly the traffic jams will start to clear up.

Ideally, the price should rise and fall throughout the day to keep demand constant and prevent overcharging anyone.

--
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.

Re:Free the market by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-07-01 11:23 · Score: 4, Insightful

The trick with market-based pricing of 'public' infrastructure(whether or not this is an argument against it is a matter of taste) is that it requires you to take a sharp, and not uncontroversial, stand on the purpose and meaning of 'public'...

There are really three-ish basic possible positions(though it is certainly possible to mix and match and hedge and squirm a bit at the cost of some complexity, and certain sorts of 'public' things fit more naturally into one category or another).

1. 'Public' in the sense that ownership is vested in some body that represents 'the people', but exploited under the usual conditions of profit maximization. This one crops up with mineral and other natural resources most frequently. The nominal owner is 'the people'; but the obvious expectation is that 'the people' will sell/lease/etc. the asset for the best possible price to some other entity and then rake in the cash.

2. 'Public' in the sense that ownership is vested in some body that represents 'the people', and that the property in question is, in some sense, 'for' the people as well as owned by them. National Parks are the most obvious example. They are 'owned' in approximately the same sense as above; but public opinion would likely be hostile if we simply sold them off and cut everybody a check. There is a sense, often poorly articulated; but reflected in generally low ticket prices, that 'the people' should have enjoyment of them, as well as ownership.

3. 'Public' in the sense of being a necessary response to market failure. Utilities are the most obvious example. Unlike #1, 'the people' are both the owners and the customers, so profit is generally seen as a bad thing; but unlike #2, where appeals to intangibles like 'national heritage' are common, public opinion generally just wants the system to run not-for-profit; but as efficiently as reasonably possible.

If you adopt market-based pricing for roads, you are (though it is not polite to say so), adopting the theory that, if enough people cannot afford access to this 'public' feature, it will be more efficient, and more pleasant for the remainder who can. This isn't necessarily wrong; but it implies that you are essentially rejecting the notion that 'the people' have any right, beyond that of 'customer', to the enjoyment of a 'public' facility. This is pretty uncontroversial in something like a mineral deposit(Show of hands: would you rather have the right to grab your shovel and go get your share of the bauxite, or just sell the mineral rights to FooCorp and get your share of the proceeds?); but becomes a bit thornier when the 'public' asset is something more like a utility. Is a 'public' road a thing that 'the people' have the right to use, or is it something that 'the people' sell, by means of their representatives, to the subset of them that can afford the equilibrium price of access?
Re:Free the market by Ichijo · 2012-07-01 12:37 · Score: 3, Insightful

If the revenue from congestion tolling a road is invested back into the road, it lowers the amount of money that must be collected from the gas tax in order to maintain the road. Therefore, congestion pricing transfers wealth from people who can afford the market rate for travel during peak periods to those who can only afford the off-peak rates.
And because the gas tax and other user fees only cover 65% of the cost of the roads, then congestion pricing also reduces the road's maintenance burden on people who cannot afford to drive at all.

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Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
Re:Free the market by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-07-01 16:32 · Score: 1

The case of non-drivers may well be so, depending on the locality's tax structure and road funding; but the 'wealth transfer' from peak users to off-peak users is a phantom that only shows up if you ignore the fact that they are getting two different products. More or less tautologically, 'peak periods' are whatever times are most desirable for driving, so the people paying more are the people purchasing the better product and the people paying less are the ones unable or unwilling to buy anything other than the inferior product. If that amounts to 'wealth transfer', then so does virtually every pricing strategy on the market...
Re:Free the market by tehcyder · 2012-07-02 02:46 · Score: 1

Given that traffic congestion is a shortage of available road space for the number of motorists who want to use it at a particular time, the solution is obvious to anyone with an ounce of economic sense: stop setting the price below the going rate determined by supply and demand. Get rid of the government-imposed price ceilings on freeway travel, and suddenly the traffic jams will start to clear up.
Ideally, the price should rise and fall throughout the day to keep demand constant and prevent overcharging anyone.
Meanwhile, in the real world, most people have to get to and from work at pretty set times determined by their employer. There is no "free market" or "supply and demand" although the right wingers will, of course, say that you can always leave your job, start up your own consultancy business and so on.

Public roads should be for everyone to access equally. If you're really that rich that you can't face using the same roads as the plebs, buy a fucking helicopter, (but take care not to have too many lessons).

In the UK we don't have toll roads yet, but unfortunately I can see them coming, as this country's Tory government strives to copy the US.

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it

Re:Tokyo? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-01 10:41 · Score: 1

Not true. IBM has several research facilities in the US, like the one that created Watson, the Jeopardy! champ. On the other hand, if they are relying on IBM Global Services (mostly using low-paid entry level employees from India), and a have shoddy low-cost contract, it will take years, be way over budget, and when they are "done", the traffic will be worse than it is now.

Reduce Workforce by 78%, Problem Solved! by theodp · 2012-07-01 10:41 · Score: 1

Earlier on Slashdot: Cringely Predicts IBM Will Shed 78% of US Employees By 2015

My results by slashmydots · 2012-07-01 10:49 · Score: 4, Insightful

My lab of engineers have came up with this. Take away the 1% of drivers who have no business driving and hold up hundreds of people behind them and get in multiple accidents that cause a 10 mile backup and traffic will move a hell of a lot better than 1% better. There have been numerous studies saying 1 person can affect hundreds of people in any traffic system. So get grandma, the 20 year old semis, and borderline psychological problems people off the road and that'll do better than any AI routing.

Re:My results by darkstar949 · 2012-07-01 14:12 · Score: 1

The secondary problem is that there are a lot more than just 1% of the drivers being lousy drivers in the Boston area. It's not unusual to run into problems with drivers that a) will not let other drivers merge (resulting in traffic jams around on ramps), b) will speed up when the light turns yellow, c) will sit in the middle of the intersection after the light turns red, and d) change lanes without signaling their intentions followed by slowing down.
Re:My results by rhsanborn · 2012-07-01 23:57 · Score: 1

It's a lot more than 1% in most situations. Poll drivers on their driving habits, and almost every one will tell you they are a good driver, and everyone else is bad. Ask them if they think they are capable of text and driving and they will say they can, but others are dangerous when they text and drive ...
Re:My results by drinkypoo · 2012-07-02 01:59 · Score: 1

I'm serious: just take all cars out of our cities tuxdammit! Park them at the border and use public transport or walk.
No lie. I love driving, right up until I get to a city. Cars are what make cities suck in general. Take 'em out and everything will get better. Public transportation would work fine if it didn't have to fight other traffic, and over time you'd be able to eliminate the bus lines in favor of other options (light rail, PRT, etc etc.)

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

CSMA/CD by PPH · 2012-07-01 10:49 · Score: 4, Funny

Everyone goes. When a collision is detected, everyone backs up and tries again.

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Have gnu, will travel.

Re:Tokyo? by colinrichardday · 2012-07-01 10:55 · Score: 2

Boston traffic worse? That would be an achievement!

Here's an idea: by Voogru · 2012-07-01 10:57 · Score: 3, Informative

Get rid of the damn traffic lights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS_wjo378h4
The only problem is they can't put red light cameras for free money, oh no.

Re:Boston Innovation District by ThatsMyNick · 2012-07-01 11:06 · Score: 1

"Give us money for a new stadium or we'll move away."

Why cant the city build its own stadium, and make the proceeds go to the city. As someone not familiar with any of these city-sports teams, I am curious.

TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & J by xluap · 2012-07-01 11:13 · Score: 2

TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & JAMS
1998 William Beaty Electrical Engineer

My first 'experiment': accidentally erasing waves!
Once upon a time, years ago, I was driving through a number of stop/go traffic waves on I-520 at rush hour in Seattle. I decided to try something. On a day when I immediately started hitting the usual "waves" of stopped cars, I decided to drive smoothly. Rather than repeatedly rushing ahead with everyone else, only to come to a halt, I decided to try to move at the average speed of the traffic. I let a huge gap open up ahead of me, and timed things so I was arriving at the next "stop-wave" just as the last red brakelights were turning off ahead of me. It certainly felt weird to have that huge empty space ahead of me, but I knew I was driving no slower than anyone else. Sometimes I hit it just right and never had to touch the brakes at all. Other times I was too fast or slow. There were many "waves" that evening, and this gave me many opportunities to improve my skill as I drove along.

I kept this up for maybe half an hour while approaching the city. Finally I happened to glance at my rearview mirror. There was an interesting sight.
It was dusk, the headlights were on, and I was going down a long hill to the bridges. I had a view of miles of highway behind me. In the neighboring lane I could see maybe five of the traffic stop-waves. But in the lane behind me, for miles, TOTALLY UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION. I hadn't realized it, but by driving at the average speed of the traffic around me, my car had been "eating" the traffic waves. Everyone ahead of me was caught in the stop/go cycle, while everyone behind me was forced to go at a nice smooth 35MPH or so. My single tiny car had erased miles and miles of stop-and-go traffic. Just one single "lubricant atom" had a profound effect on the turbulent particle flow within the entire miles of "tube."

http://amasci.com/amateur/traffic/trafexp.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=traffic+site:amasci.com

Are they nuts? by DoofusOfDeath · 2012-07-01 11:27 · Score: 2

The IBM guys are going to insist that every car's firmware gets a license for Lotus Notes.

They will not like the needed solutions by WindBourne · 2012-07-01 11:42 · Score: 1

1) Throw in a number of round-a-bouts where stop signs are (round-a-bouts are much better than stop signs for handling traffic flow). 2) re-time a number of stop-lights. 3) a new layer of traffic: Basically add in rail underground, or better yet, and much cheaper, put elevated monorail around the area.

--
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.

Re:They will not like the needed solutions by turkeydance · 2012-07-01 12:38 · Score: 1

this is the USA. roundabouts don't work good (well): http://www.wral.com/traffic/story/11173856/ Raleigh NC has given up. tried it. fail.

Disney ... by i.r.id10t · 2012-07-01 12:59 · Score: 1

could probably give them a few ideas regarding moving people around in a congested area.

--
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos

Re:Disney ... by tehcyder · 2012-07-02 03:12 · Score: 1

could probably give them a few ideas regarding moving people around in a congested area.
But didn't IBM also employ their computing and engineering knowledge to help the Nazis more efficiently solve their Jewish Problem?

--
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Disney ... by i.r.id10t · 2012-07-03 08:13 · Score: 1

The record keeping at least...
But then, IBM also made M1 Carbines during WW2, which were used to fight the Germans (and Japanese, and later Koreans).
Of course, the M1 Carbines could also be used to solve traffic problems....

--
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos

Not Traffic problem solved by AK+Marc · 2012-07-01 13:22 · Score: 1

This isn't about solving a traffic problem. It's about solving an information distribution problem. IBM will not be working on traffic at all, but will be working with traffic systems to report on them, in real time, to the population.

I've always had the idea that every car should have 3GPS in it (3G data GPS) that reports start and destination to a central server, and the central server reports back a preferred route based on real-time traffic and road conditions (including expected road conditions based on other's trips). This would lead to prevention of traffic jams by routing traffic around bottlenecks before critical mass.

Yes, I realize that the libertarian-leaning Slashdot would hate this idea, and I'm aware of the privacy and security issues. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't massively improve traffic flow at a relatively low cost.

But IBM isn't working on anything like that. They are just tweeting jams. Why is it that every $1,000,000,000 government idea sounds like what a guy in his garage could accomplish in a weekend if they had access to the systems?

--
Learn to love Alaska

Re:Not Traffic problem solved by ub3r+n3u7r4l1st · 2012-07-01 17:08 · Score: 1

Because the guy in the garage doesn't have the proper credentials to go with what he knows.

--
New Economic Perspectives
Re:Not Traffic problem solved by drinkypoo · 2012-07-02 02:00 · Score: 1

Yes, I realize that the libertarian-leaning Slashdot would hate this idea, and I'm aware of the privacy and security issues. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't massively improve traffic flow at a relatively low cost.
You don't have to force it on people; offer them subsidized GPS with the feature (show them ads when they route or something) and they'll flock to it in droves. And only a percentage of people have to have it for there to be a significant improvement...

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Not Traffic problem solved by AK+Marc · 2012-07-02 07:58 · Score: 1

What does the guy in the garage know?

--
Learn to love Alaska

There IS a solution... by FlyingGuy · 2012-07-01 13:32 · Score: 1

BUT is is pretty expensive and you will have to step on LOTS of toes do it.

So consider the following. The city of Melbourne has 75km of freeway that leads into and out of the city core. The rebuilt the road and did the following:>/p>

Instrumented the every lane on the freeway with detectors ever 500 meters
Instrumented the every off ramp on the freeway
Metered every on ramp to freeway.
Placed Multi-Function information signs WELL before every on ramp to the freeway
Placed variable timing centrally controlled signals on all the feeding arterial roads.

Now the central traffic authority controls all the roads, highways, arterials, everything. In the state of California CalTrans has to deal with every municipality and get them to agree to ramp metering AND they have to get them to coordinate all the signals on the arterial feed roads.

So as you can see it is more then just money it is politics. There really is a simple solution and that is you push the congestion back onto city streets for entrances onto and off of the main lines.

--
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!

Re:Why IBM? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-01 13:38 · Score: 1

IBM solution? Outsource all traffic light operations to IBM Indian call center workers earning $0.50/hr, bill them out at $100/hr, and project manage the whole thing with non-technical IBM geniuses billing at $400/hr!

Layout and mass transit by KingAlanI · 2012-07-01 13:39 · Score: 1

Boston has a ridiculous street layout, probably a side effect of growing organically hundreds of years before cars.
I wonder why cities with a good subway system have car traffic issues. (subway doesn't have the practical traffic issues or mental 'poor people only' issues that buses have)
DC has planned grid streets and some of the same problems.

--
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.

Re:Layout and mass transit by dr2chase · 2012-07-01 14:56 · Score: 2

I think there are several reasons why a good subway system could be correlated with traffic jams.
1) good subways are installed to alleviate pre-existing traffic jams, so there are already traffic jams
2) good subways are correlated with old cities with weird layouts, so there are traffic jams
3) good subways allow you to sustain more economic activity than could possibly be accommodated with cars alone. Some fraction of those people on the subway are "marginal" subway users, meaning, if the traffic were not so bad, or parking so expensive, or (fill in the blank, in some way, less sucky), they would drive. This means that if you add freeway capacity or remove bottlenecks, some of those people leave the subway and consume all that shiny capacity that you just added, jamming it up all over again.
Re:Layout and mass transit by MtViewGuy · 2012-07-01 15:42 · Score: 1

What is interesting is that in Japan, they have to deal with the problem of TOO many people using mass transit in certain parts of Tokyo and Osaka.
For example, Shinjuku Station in Tokyo can be a nightmare for pedestrian traffic control, considering that 1) JR East has a LOT of trains going through that area, including a lot of trains that start and stop at that station, 2) Odakyu Electric Railway has its main station here, 3) Keio Corporation has its main station there, 4) both major subway operators in Tokyo have stations there, and 5) many long-distance bus companies operate stations around Shinjuku Station. And to think JR East nearly routed their Shinkansen trains going on the Nagano and Tohoku Shinkansen lines to Shinjuku Station....
Re:Layout and mass transit by xaxa · 2012-07-01 22:26 · Score: 1

That's not just Japan. At peak times many of the central stations in London have more people waiting on the platform that can get on the next train (generally you can get on the one after, and they're every 2-5 minutes, depending on the line).
At exceptional times, like after a large event somewhere not-so-central (e.g. rock concert in a park), or a exceptionally large event somewhere central (maybe Gay Pride this weekend, which I think is the biggest event in London, although that doesn't have a "finishing time" as such) they have to restrict people from going onto platforms. You can fit about 1200 people on a tube train, but you need more space on the platform for people to be safe. (And if you have an island platform, with tracks either side, the safe capacity is lower than if one side of the platform is a wall.)
Re:Layout and mass transit by KingAlanI · 2012-07-05 05:59 · Score: 1

in many mass transit systems (including DC and Boston) it can be hard to get to/from the suburbs even if the system works well within the main city

--
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
Re:Layout and mass transit by KingAlanI · 2012-07-05 06:04 · Score: 1

in the US that overload only seems to happen with large special events (going to/from Fenway on Red Sox game day for example)

--
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.

Re:Boston Innovation District by PopeRatzo · 2012-07-01 13:45 · Score: 1

I think you missed the point of my post, or maybe you decided to ignore it and respond to a hypothetical post. My point was that the startups on the waterfront don't seem to mind the existing traffic and parking hassles, since it helps them build a younger workforce attuned to trends in social networking, electronic gadgets and pop culture.

No, I understand, and you're right to a certain extent. Remember, the CEO still has to drive in from the suburbs.

I was responding more generally than to only your correct point.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.

Re:They will not like the needed solutions by jacks0n · 2012-07-01 14:01 · Score: 1

This isn't the USA. This is Massachusetts. We have lots of traffic circles up here and generally know how to use them.

Re:Tokyo? by Taco+Cowboy · 2012-07-01 14:52 · Score: 2

IBM has several research facilities in the US

Umm ...

Sorry I had to break this for you

If you go to any research facility inside the United States of America these days, you would likely meet with researchers who were imported from elsewhere in the world - from places like India, Israel, Korea, Russia, China

--
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !

Re:TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & by baegucb · 2012-07-01 14:56 · Score: 1

There is no I-520 in Seattle. Wiki shows an I-520 in Georgia. There's a Washington state route 520. And slowing up to 35 on that route rated for 55 will make your commute easier, not so much for the people behind you. (The big slowdown has been the floating bridge, which is being replaced, and is now tolled).

I've got to second this by NotSoHeavyD3 · 2012-07-01 15:01 · Score: 1

I live near a couple of rotaries. (Which is what we call them.) I keep seeing people do insane shit in them, like stopping while they're in the rotary because they can't get off where they want.(Just go around, keep fucking moving.) Then again this is massachusetts where people will be in the right most lane of a 3 lane road and take a left. (Yes, really.)

--
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.

Re:TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & by loom_weaver · 2012-07-01 15:05 · Score: 1

I've done this on occasion and it seems to work quite nicely as I find I'm rarely braking. The cars behind me enjoy a nice smooth flow and since there is usually a space in front of me others can easily merge.

Don't confuse this with driving slow. One average I'm going approximately the same speed as the stop-and-go cars in front. If I see congestion up ahead I take my foot off the accelerator and try to time it so that the car in front is just starting to get going again just as I arrive.

Re:They will not like the needed solutions by Ksevio · 2012-07-01 15:09 · Score: 1

They gave that a try in a few places - it didn't really work out as you can see in this google maps shot: https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.334109,-71.104866&spn=0.001036,0.001206&z=20

Don't need an IBM engineer by xaoslaad · 2012-07-01 15:29 · Score: 3, Interesting

I had to drive into Boston for a few days last week. 1:45 minutes to get into the city the two days I drove myself. Over two hours when I took the train, because first I had to get to the subway. Then I had to wait for the first train, which kept stopping, so it was a long and delayed ride. Then I got to the the Green line and had to wait for another train. Eventually I got where I was going. When sitting in my car is more comfortable and faster, there is little incentive to take the train. Make public transportation faster and more reliable and maybe I'll be more inclined to take...

Furthermore, on both days that I drove 15 minutes of my ride was getting through a short section of MA Ave, where the lights were perhaps 10's of yards apart. First light turns green. But the light ahead is red, so no one moves. Green light turns red, red light turns green. Next time the light turns green I'm able to move up just enough to get through the intersection and wait at the next red light... I don't know, maybe like get the lights back in sync now and again so traffic can actually flow smoothly?

Re:2 major ways to ease traffic jam by mjwx · 2012-07-01 15:50 · Score: 2, Interesting

Essentially there are only 2 ways to ease traffic jams

1. Widen existing roadways and build more new thoroughfares to accommodate the vehicles

or

2. Cut down on the number of vehicles that travel on the road

Don't need IBM engineers to figure that out

Yes, but IBM engineers can make driving so user unfriendly and convoluted that fewer people will want to drive, thus achieving solution number 2.

--
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.

Re:TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & by Ritchie70 · 2012-07-01 16:24 · Score: 1

If I'm in the right mood I've done this, and semi truck drivers seem to routinely drive like this, probably more out of self interest than altruistic intent. Avoid shifting, avoid brake wear, probably minimizes fuel usage too.

It seems to have a positive impact on traffic flow. Plus there's always some asshole behind you who's just furious at you driving "slow". Pissing off that guy can be fun.

In fact you're staying next to the same set of about 10 cars in the other lanes the whole time, so there's no negative impact to his commute time. But he can't race up to 50 then stop, then to 50 mph, then stop when he's riding your ass doing 30 the whole time.

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The preferred solution is to not have a problem.

They'll be building a sort of "Traffic Ring" by CFD339 · 2012-07-01 16:34 · Score: 1

The IBM engineers will be a sort of "Traffic Ring" in which the major roads are used IN TURN, so that all of the lanes go the same direction. Each building will await it's turn, then all the traffic from that building will go out at once for a specific period of time. During that period of time, traffic from that building will have complete use of the roads until the turn passes and it becomes the next building's turn.

To enable this, there will be a Token passed from building to building. Whichever building has the token will control all traffic on the ring. :-)

--
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln

Re:Why IBM? by anethema · 2012-07-01 17:32 · Score: 1

Ya it is funny listening to Howard Stern, and hearing him talk about Lotus Notes. Didn't even know it still existed.

--

It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.

Re:Boston Innovation District by LordLucless · 2012-07-01 18:26 · Score: 1

which is accessible via subway but not too friendly for people driving cars who have to contend with lots of traffic and parking hassles.

This sounds like they are doing it for their citizens, who are working at these companies. That sounds like a reasonable function of government. What, government should only pay for roads if they lead to businesses started by native citizens?

I'm the first to argue against any form of government subsidy (and tax, for that matter) but maintaining a road system sounds like one of the fundamental things citizens would expect the government to do with their money.

--
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face

Re:They will not like the needed solutions by xaxa · 2012-07-01 22:52 · Score: 1

A modern roundabout has spiralling lanes, that guide you to the correct exit. Remembering the UK drives on the left, follow a car through a right turn -- the innermost lane when entering the roundabout becomes the outermost lane when the car reaches the correct exit (or next-but-outermost, sometimes, if the outgoing exit has two lanes).

Roundabout aficionados may wish to follow the main road (above) east a little, to see this. I can see eight.

While they're at it by StripedCow · 2012-07-01 23:14 · Score: 1

Perhaps they can ask the Linux kernel developers to solve unemployment by coming up with novel resource scheduling algorithms, and ask the engineers at Google help solve the problem of populistic voting by introducing their page rank system into the elections.

--
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.

Re:Boston Innovation District by PopeRatzo · 2012-07-02 00:11 · Score: 1

That sounds like a reasonable function of government. What, government should only pay for roads if they lead to businesses started by native citizens?

Not at all. I'm 100% for any infrastructure projects. Even those that aren't needed today provide a benefit, the way the trains that once ran through nowhere brought towns and businesses.

But if businesses are going to benefit from these functions of government, I wish they wouldn't try to drown government in a bathtub.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.

Re:Boston Innovation District by LordLucless · 2012-07-02 00:33 · Score: 1

Personally, I think the fault's still on the government in these sort of cases. They need to develop more of a spine - negotiate a better deal with the companies when they move in, including penalty rates for moving again soon after, or whatever. The problem is, the states/cities are all chasing after the business, which puts it into a buyer's market.

At least part of it, I think, is the usual problem with government - the bureaucrats who make all the decisions are using other people's money to do so, and aren't really accountable for its use. As long as they get the big splash of attracting the company, the amount it actually costs lost in the hype.

--
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face

Re:TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & by T-Bone-T · 2012-07-02 00:39 · Score: 1

When I find myself in stop-and-go traffic, I find a semi and get behind it and enjoy the smooth drive.

Re:Boston Innovation District by tehcyder · 2012-07-02 01:22 · Score: 1

I take it that one of the unspoken advantages from the POV of hiring managers, is that it will attract recent college grads still living in Boston and Cambridge (particularly from MIT), while being less attractive to middle aged engineers and managers commuting from the suburbs. Thus there is a built-in age bias that is pretty much immune to lawsuits.

If you're recruiting for places for recent college grads I don't see how anyone middle aged can brring a lawsuit against you for only employing recent college grads.

--
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it

Re:Boston Innovation District by tehcyder · 2012-07-02 01:28 · Score: 1

My point was that the startups on the waterfront don't seem to mind the existing traffic and parking hassles, since it helps them build a younger workforce attuned to trends in social networking, electronic gadgets and pop culture.

To get that "insight", you just need to employ a teenager as receptionist or general filing clerk or something. You don't need the people doing the work to be the same as your customers.

--
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it

Re:2 major ways to ease traffic jam by ceoyoyo · 2012-07-02 01:29 · Score: 3, Insightful

In some places those are the only two ways to ELIMINATE traffic jams. You can ease them considerably, and possibly eliminate them in some situations, by making some fairly small changes to the way traffic flows. Timing lights, replacing lights with overpasses (or just blocking access from some streets), reversing lanes at certain times of the day, etc.

There's one place on the freeway near me that is almost always bumper to bumper. The road before and after this spot is usually fine. What's the problem? Some idiot highway planner designed an on ramp that comes up to the (elevated) highway level blind, then the merge lane is nonexistent. So anybody coming up that on ramp finds themselves suddenly in a highway lane, and anyone in that highway lane instantly tries to move over to the left, etc. The problem could be solved by either making a reasonable acceleration lane at highway level, getting the on ramp to highway level faster, or even blocking off the rightmost lane of the highway (generally the highway isn't at capacity anyway).

Re:2 major ways to ease traffic jam by Phreakiture · 2012-07-02 01:49 · Score: 1

Yes, but IBM engineers can make driving so user unfriendly and convoluted that fewer people will want to drive, thus achieving solution number 2.

Boston has already done a good enough job of that on its own. I've driven there twice and have no desire to repeat the experience.

--
www.wavefront-av.com

Re:TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & by drinkypoo · 2012-07-02 02:03 · Score: 1

That's great, but it only works with a competent, conscientous driver, and most people aren't.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Re:2 major ways to ease traffic jam by drinkypoo · 2012-07-02 02:05 · Score: 1

California is just FULL of shit like that. What's pathetic is that it really appears to be deliberate because even when there's lots of space for another lane to control merging it is rarely there.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Re:They will not like the needed solutions by David_Hart · 2012-07-02 02:22 · Score: 1

No, they don't!! An extreme example is the Drumhill rotary near Lowell. I used to drive through there every day to work and every day there was at least one accident. Granted, it was the most poorly designed rotary possible with bad sight lines, but people had no idea what to do when trying to navigate it. It was changed to a 4 way stop during the Route 3 expansion.

Massachusetts has got to have the worst road designers EVER. Off and On ramps that are way too short, poorly built rotaries, lack of feeder roads, merge lanes with multiple lanes instead of filtering down to one, etc.

Grid layout by CosaNostra+Pizza+Inc · 2012-07-02 04:01 · Score: 1

Boston should have gone to a grid system, like Manhattan has, long ago.

Re:2 major ways to ease traffic jam by ShanghaiBill · 2012-07-02 05:46 · Score: 2

Essentially there are only 2 ways to ease traffic jams
1. Widen existing roadways and build more new thoroughfares to accommodate the vehicles
2. Cut down on the number of vehicles that travel on the road

3. Fix traffic light timing
4. Identify and fix critical bottlenecks
5. Convert more lanes to HOV to encourage car-pooling
6. Eliminate underused HOV lanes, so everyone can drive in them
7. Convert traffic circles to traffic lights or stop signs
8. Convert traffic lights to traffic circles
9. Build more off street parking, so people pulling in and out of on-street parking don't block traffic
10. Handout hefty fines to people that stop in intersections, causing gridlock
11. Encourage the purchase of automated cruise control systems (these reduce the accordion effect in traffic jams)
12. Ticket slow drivers in the fast lane
13. etc, etc, etc

Re:TRAFFIC "EXPERIMENTS" AND A CURE FOR WAVES & by x0 · 2012-07-02 06:47 · Score: 1

by loom_weaver

I've done this on occasion and it seems to work quite nicely as I find I'm rarely braking. The cars behind me enjoy a nice smooth flow and since there is usually a space in front of me others can easily merge.

The only problem with this method is that it just doesn't work on multi-lane roads. There are always asshats that jump into the gap and braking...

m

--
In the immortal words of Socrates, who said; 'I drank what?'

Re:2 major ways to ease traffic jam by tzot · 2012-07-02 08:45 · Score: 1

THIS TRAFFIC LIGHT INTENTIONALLY LEFT RED

(please ignore this obligatory lower case sentence to avoid the filter error)

--
I speak England very best

Re:Why IBM? by lsatenstein · 2012-07-03 01:55 · Score: 1

You think punch cards are bad? IBM is till pushing Lotus Notes as an email application.
Think I would prefer punch cards.

My retort is that a great design, Lotus notes, surpasses Sharepoint in ease of use and friendliness.
And over time LN has improved significantly, particularly for a multi-lingual global enterprise.

Enjoy July 3rd Doonsbury cartoon.

--
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada

Re:They will not like the needed solutions by WindBourne · 2012-07-03 07:07 · Score: 1

I would say that it is broken. Everybody is going to the left, rather than the right. :)

--
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.

Re:Why IBM? by LesFerg · 2012-07-04 11:06 · Score: 1

And yet if I forget that I am using such crap software and copy something off a web page and paste it into Lotus Notes, the whole app freezes for over a minute.
Seriously, copy-and-paste was adopted a long long time ago and most people nowdays assume that they can just do it.

--
If I had a DeLorean... I would probably only drive it from time to time.

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