You know you live in Austin when you measure the distance somewhere in minutes, not miles. The time of day also is your deciding factor if you really want to go somewhere because the traffic is just horrendous.
Todd Hemingson says that the buses taking the toll lanes to get people to their destination faster will make people want to take the bus rather than drive themselves. Which will, in turn, reduce the traffic overall. That is great news and all, but if everyone suddenly wants to take the bus the buses will fill up and there will be an overcrowding. Just like it was a great idea to have a train that took people into and out of Austin. Don't get me wrong, the train does do that. The downfall to that is that there is only one track and it doesn't branch out into many parts of Austin. The MetroRail was a good idea, the outcome isn't as efficient and convenient as imagined. The buses will eventually have their downside, too. Once this lovely toll lane is added to MoPac. It all seems really great in theory, but will it live up to the expectations.
The toll lane is supposed to have a goal of keeping the traffic flow at at least 50 miles per hour. Sounds awesome, right? Until everyone wants to be in that lane and will pay the price it takes. The problem isn't just the roads here in Austin, it is the constant growth we have. Roughly 130 people move into Austin a day. In just one day. So, is building the new toll lane the best option?
Sure, adding more lanes to MoPac will be awesome for the commute but that doesn't change all these folks moving here.
I'm not saying that I have a better solution to the traffic problem (except to tell people to GO HOME), but I'm not entirely convinced that the one extra toll lane is going to help solve the problem completely. Austin grew too fast for the roads to handle this amount of traffic constantly on it.
It has been noticed that people prefer to drive themselves everywhere they go anyways. So, making the buses look more attractive to ride might be harder than Hemingson thinks. Hopefully there is some change soon because I don't think that any of us can handle the traffic much longer.
Considering the great American’s way of life, everyone is always busy and on the move, needing to be on the road most of the time. Whether it’s for work of for fun, road expansion in any big city in general or in Austin in specific supposed to be projected for the following twenty years. In Austin there is a fast growing in the population rate, as Samantha said, “about 120 people comes to Austin every day.” Adding one extra lane (toll lane) where people who ride that lane have to pay for using it. Considering people that move to Austin have to pay vehicle taxes meaning that money should pay for road expansion. It seems that the City of Austin likes to see traffic pilling up, so investment. I think adding ONE extra lane to Mo joke that the City of Austin has came up with.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Samantha that this one lane for sure is not enough for such a growing city as Austin.
I have to agree with my classmate in her blog, Rush. Austin is growing rapidly in the last few year, and our current road highway system can't handle the increases in traffic. Adding toll lanes to the Mopac Expressway might help with the increasing traffic in Austin, it do not solve the problem in the long run. Just like the MetroRail, it somewhat helps the traffic when there is a seminar in downtown Austin. But the MetroRail only has one track, to and back from Austin. Even with the toll-road, MetroRail, and buses, we still experiencing very bad traffic every day, all hours of the day.
ReplyDeleteWe need something more than using millions of dollars to add more lanes to the old highway. It will not free up the highway and improve traffic. It's useless just like any other project the City of Austin did to diverse traffic. It might be too late for us to try to solve this traffic problem we have in Austin. People in Austin is used to drive everywhere with their car, and it's a traffic that is hard to break.
I like how this article has an informal tone to it because it makes it easy to read and relate to. However, it also decreases the power of its conviction, which would make it more difficult convince a non-bus rider to consider helping fund better public transportation. Anyway, I definitely agree that Austin needs to find a solution to its traffic problem. As a registered voter, I'm ready to hear any suggestions that are out there!
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