Talking Traffic

Topics: Project Development Process

 Episode 16 - Project Development Process [14:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Topics: Professional Engineers

 Episode 15 - Professional Engineers [9:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Member of the Surface Transportation Revenue and Study Commission Speaks Out: Paul Weyrich, a member of the Surface Transportation Revenue and Study Commission, objects to the media coverage of the commission’s recent report (see Traffic Tidbits of 22 Jan 08). He feels that too much emphasis on just one alternative, the fuel tax rise, is drowning out the other good work the commission has completed. I’ll be honest here. I haven’t read the report yet. I was depending on media feeds. I’m going to read it today, though.

I-35 W Bridge Collapse: The fact that the preliminary findings of the NTSB are pointing at design flaws rather than maintenance failure for the I-35W Bridge collapse in 2007 is causing ruffled political feathers.

Ship Obsolescence: The United States maintains a strategic reserve of transport ships in case national emergencies call for bulk carriers. Some of these ships are old, and some are older. When they outlive their operational usefulness, they are broken up for recycling. The gov’t is making some good money in the business right now.

I-95 Going All Data, All the Time: Interstate 95 is one of the nation’s most congested corridors, being hugely important for moving people and goods north and south along the east coast. A new intiative, to provide realtime data to travelers, is under way. Having experienced I-95 in the northeast during some seriously congested times, I would appreciate better information with which to make decisions, for my own use.

Too Much Congestion? Eliminate Half the Vehicles!: An odd/even system of vehicle restriction is being looked at as an option to reduce the congestion of Bangalore.

Mine’s Better!: I think my diagram of a Gusset plate is better. But at least this news story from Kansas has one, which is better than most.

Google Transit: Google’s latest foray is a trip planner that utilizes public transit. Currently it has limited coverage, but I’m sure it will go up.

I-35 Gusset Plate Failures may not be alone: The I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis failed because its Gusset plates were too thin. This may be a more pervasive problem than was first realized.

Tolls are the Way of the Future?The NY Times discusses tolling as a method of transportation funding.

Presidential Candidates and Transit: How do the Democratic and Republican candidates stack up on the Transportation issue? Live from the Third Rail has the lowdown.

New Rules for Lithium Batteries on Airplanes: Passengers beware. There are now restrictions on lithium-ion batteries in your check luggage. Essentially, you may only place them in checked luggage if they are inside the device they are intended to power.

Cell Talkers Drive Slowly: A study out of the University of Utah finds that people talking on cell phones, even with hands-free devices, drive more slowly and make fewer lane changes. The study indicates the implication that this may cause increased traffic congestion. The Media has locked on to this saying that CELL PHONES CAUSE TRAFFIC JAMS which is not a legitimate conclusion from the study. I do not deny that this is probable, but the conclusion reached by media outlets is overstretching the data.

Maintenance is Key: A pothole (called a crater here) has caused months of congestion in Kolkata, India. Maintenance of existing infrastructure is important. Inter-agency agreements are even more important.

Mathematical Modeling of Traffic Jams: Backward-moving waves of traffic jam congestion have been a topic of study for some time. A team of mathematicians at the Univerity of Exeter have produced a model that accurately reproduces congestion. I’d like to say this was a break-through, as the article implies, but it’s not. These sorts of events have been studied for a long time.

Public Transportation for Dummies¹: A brief primer for beginners who are not used to the public transportation system.

¹If I were trying to be a gamer-geek, I would have said, Public Transportation for n00bs, but that would be posing

I’ve been advocating for years that we cut rumble strips into our roadways that play songs! It would be simple to space out the grooves in order to generate simple melodies.

The Japanese have beat me to it.

I still dream of hearing the Muppet Show Theme as I drive down the interstate. Someday…

• New Roundabouts in Detroit: Many intersections are being replaced by roundabouts in the Detroit, MI, area.
• Innovative Traffic Calming:  This man used cardboard likenesses of his children to slow vehicles through his neighborhood [video].
• British Airports Are Having Long Lines, Too: Transport Blog debates whether the government-run British Airporty Authority should be broken up.
• NASA Solicits Information:  If you can provide efficient logistical support to a far off outpost, e.g. the International Space Boondoggle, NASA wants to talk to you.  Of course, any commercial or private service that can lessen the cost of achieving low Earth orbit will benefit the entire space program, Space Station or no.
• Traffic Prediction:  NPR stands up for us traffic engineers!
• Bicycles in the Traffic Stream: Mr. Viddy discusses his experiences with being a bicyclist mixed with cars in the Pacific Northwest.
• Physics of Inductance Loops: Physics is Phun explains the inductance loops used to detect vehicles at stop bars.